Former presidential spokesperson and minister, Mac Maharaj has described the flames that engulfed South Africa’s Parliament as a painful and tragic episode for the country.
Parts of both the old and the new Assembly were destroyed after a fire broke out at the weekend.
Forty-nine-year-old Zandile Mafe made his first appearance before the Cape Town Magistrates Court in connection with the matter – he faces five charges relating to the incident.
President Cyril Ramaphosa told journalists that the building’s sprinkler system had not functioned properly.
While Maharaj refused to speculate on the motives behind the fire, he raised concerns over the maintenance of infrastructure in the country.
The political activist said that democratic South Africa was characterized by a lack of maintenance of its infrastructure and assets.
“That is across the board. We see it all the time and I think that that neglect cannot be allowed to continue any longer, whoever is responsible for whatever the causes. We need to learn that in order to preserve our future, we need to ensure that our infrastructure is properly maintained,” Maharaj said.
-EWN
In other news – Faith Nketsi’s real age shocks South Africa
Reality TV star Faith Nketsi recently took to her social media pages to share pictures from her birthday. Her followers and fans wished her well though many were a bit shocked and confused after realizing that the TV star looks older than her real age.
Through the reactions from Twitter, it appears many thought Faith Nketsi was at least 30 years old. Learn More
