The ANC’s Sauer street headquarters in Johannesburg will be closed on Monday after a fire over the weekend, a party spokesperson said.
”We haven’t done a full assessment of what has been damaged or destroyed, but it appears the Secretary-General [Kgalema Motlanthe] and deputy Secretary-General’s [Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele’s] offices escaped major fire damage,” Steyn Speed said.
”Staff are going to be briefed this morning on the extent of the damage and its implication on operations. A decision will be then be taken as to when operations will continue as normal.”
The regular Monday meeting of the party’s working committee will continue as usual at another venue, he said.
The offices affected belonged to the various units of the secretary-general’s office and it was not yet clear which documents were destroyed.
Motlanthe was about to leave the building when the alarm was sounded on Saturday afternoon. Nobody was injured.
Johannesburg Emergency Services spokesperson Malcolm Midgley said there was an initial thought that the fire could have been sparked by a wall-mounted air-conditioner but ”this is pure speculation”.
The police’s forensics units will spend a number of days sifting through the debris, filming the scene and collecting items as part of their investigation into the cause, he said.
The fire-fighting operation on Saturday experienced a temporary hiccup when it was discovered the building’s fire-fighting apparatus was not connected to a water supply.
The problem was overcome through the use of pavement fire hydrants and water from the fire trucks. – Sapa