More than two years after Parliament was devastated by a fire, the building has finally been handed over to a contractor to begin the first phase of rebuilding.
For six months following the blaze, the National Assembly and parts of the Old Assembly were inaccessible and declared crime scenes.
Only one individual, Zandile Mafe, was arrested and charged with terrorism and arson before later being declared medically unfit to stand trial. The fire ravaged the chamber, committee rooms, and parliamentary offices.
However, of the 210 offices, 155 have been restored thus far.
Approximately R3 billion is expected to be invested in creating a people’s Parliament with world-class facilities, including state-of-the-art broadcasting infrastructure.
