Parliament notes Nehawu’s instruction to its members not to report for duty

Parliament says it notes the National Education, Health & Allied Workers’ Union’s (Nehawu) public statement that it has instructed its members not to report to the precincts of Parliament following alleged occupational safety and health concerns.

Parliament’s spokesperson Moloto Mothapo says union’s statement is based on the fire and safety report of the Fire and Rescue Services.

The report was released by the City of Cape Town on Friday.

Mothapo says Parliament wants to reiterate that the fire report only contains preliminary observations of the firefighters during the outbreak of the fire.

“On 2 January 2022, the Accounting Officer of Parliament issued a communication to members of staff, informing them of restriction of access to the precincts of Parliament due to the fire incident, which has resulted in the cordoning off of affected buildings for reasons relating to safety, the investigation by law enforcement agencies and assessment by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure’s multidisciplinary team of engineers. Due to these restrictions, the physical presence of most staff members, with the exception of the management directly responsible for the management of the fire incident, is not expected until further notice,” Mothapo says.

The video below, is reporting on the investigations of the Parliament fire:

Meanwhile, 49-year-old Zandile Christmas Mafe has been arrested by the Hawks for allegedly starting the fire.

He already appeared in the Magistrate’s Court in Cape Town last week.

Mafe is expected back in court on Tuesday for his bail application.