DA wants heads to roll over Parliament fire
The Democratic Alliance (DA) says there must be accountability for the fire that destroyed Parliament last year.
On Wednesday, Secretary to Parliament Xolile George released an investigation report into the blaze, finding that Parliament did not meet minimum security standards.
The probe found that the fire could have been prevented, or its extent limited, if Parliamentary Protection Services officers were on duty at night and on public holidays and weekends during the 2021/2022 compulsory leave period.
The blaze engulfed five floors of the National Assembly (NA) building and an adjacent Old Assembly Wing the day after New Year's last year.
It caused the roof to collapse and destroyed hundreds of offices which housed Members of Parliament (MPs).
The report recommended action against five officials for failure to implement security policies, ensure compliance with occupational health and safety standards, and establish a security committee, with 28 found to be implicated.
However, DA Chief Whip Siviwe Gwarube says the buck stops with Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) Amos Masondo.
"The Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act stipulates that the Speaker and the Chairperson exercise joint control and authority over the precinct on behalf of Parliament,” says Gwarube.
"I will be writing to the Acting Speaker, Lechesa Tsenoli and the Acting Chairperson of the NCOP, Sylvia Lucas, urging them to urgently table the report before the Joint Standing Committee of Financial Management of Parliament for public discussion and interrogation."
"We need to understand who is to be held accountable and how the Executive Authority will take responsibility for the fire that will be remembered for decades to come. Accountability must begin in Parliament before it can be exercised over the executive," she adds.
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