Cape Town - A ceremonial handover of the City Hall’s keys, to host the State of the Nation Address, showed that despite a devastating fire that gutted its two houses, the work of Parliament continues.
A national tragedy and now a full circle moment of hope, as the keys of the iconic City Hall were handed over by City Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis in ceremonial handover on Monday.
Parliament will now make use of the venue for the upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA).
The City Hall building was inaugurated in July 1905 and the original key, preserved for 117 years, was ceremonially handed over to Parliament’s presiding officers, National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and National Council of Provinces chairperson Amos Masondo.
As of Monday and until February 17, the City Hall will fall under the control of Parliament.
This year’s SONA will precede the anniversary of the City Hall’s most historic moment, when former president Nelson Mandela delivered his speech soon after his release from prison on February 11, 1990.
Hill-Lewis said the hopefulness, tolerance and committed peace that Mandela spoke of on the balcony in 1990, is hopefully renewed and restored on February 10, 2022 as the site will host the SONA for the very first time.
“It is our absolute pleasure to be able to hand over this building to you and we pledge our full support and any other assistance that you need to make sure that Parliament succeeds. Not just next week but over the coming months and years as you undertake your reboot construction project.
“And I hope that you will build the most impressive, ambitious, exciting and inclusive parliament that South Africa and Africa has ever seen,” Hill-Lewis said.
Mapisa-Nqakula said the City hall was found to be the most suitable as it met all the Parliamentary requirements and thanked South Africans for their offers for alternative accommodation and office space.
“It was also an affordable option as the mayor has promised us not a cent will be paid by Parliament to conduct its business. I think that it is the most important thing because we have very little to spend to make sure we provide facilities which will be required by members of Parliament during this period,” Mapisa-Nqakula said.
Although a mere observer of the occasion, questions and remarks related to the building’s safety and SONA security were directed to police minister Bheki Cele.
Addressing Cele, Mapisa-Nqakula said the minister had a task to ensure that the City hall was safeguarded, in light of the recent fire that left another historical building, the Komani Town Hall gutted on Saturday morning.
“We have all the confidence in the abilities of our police service that you will make sure that nothing of that sort happens. What we saw over the weekend was heartbreaking in the same way that we were deeply hurt and unsettled by what happened to Parliament, and traumatised,” Mapisa-Nqakula said.
On the Parliament fire, Mapisa-Nqakula said: “We must afford the necessary space for those conducting investigations and they will then report to all of us the outcomes. We therefore ask that we not be drawn at this stage to any speculations or questions whose answers rely on these processes.”
Cele said: “The preparations of the security here are with the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints) and the Natjoints will come to explain the last touches on the security.”
On the fire, Cele said: “We are not going to give an answer until we are informed by the investigations.”