15 Jun South African Parliament Building to be fully restarted in 2025

On January 22nd 2022, a large fire tore through the South African Parliament Building in Cape Town. Now, officials have stated the building will be fully restored by 2025, three years after the damage was done.

The fire garnered global attention, as it burnt for three days, completely destroying the lower house National Assembly Chamber and rendering large portions of the building unfit for use. Furthermore, over 1,000 staff members who were working in the building were displaced and forced to work in fluctuating conditions.

The Development Bank of Southern Africa are leading the reconstruction effort, at an estimated cost of 2 billion rand.

Secretary to Parliament Xolile George commented:

“The Restoration project provides a unique opportunity to ensure that spaces are designed in a manner that best suits the specific needs of a democratic parliament and to modernise the institutions’ digital infrastructure”.

Large legislative set-piece events, such as President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation address or Wednesday’s budget speech by the finance minister, are temporarily being held in Cape Town’s city hall.

The entirety of Cape Town looks toward the re-opening of the Parliament Building, which is expected to have implemented new measures to halt the spread of fire within, all whilst modernizing diplomatic procedures in civil spaces.