Statement by Cape Town Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis

The following speech was delivered by Cape Town Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, at the ceremonial handover outside City Hall:

Today I handed over the beautiful Cape Town City Hall to the Speaker of Parliament, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, as the venue for the State of the Nation Address on the 10th of February, and the debate that follows.

To mark this historic occasion, we used the original gilted key from the inauguration of City Hall dating back to July 1905.

In its long and storied history, this is one of City Hall’s finest moments. Today, this is not just Cape Town’s City Hall, it is South Africa’s City Hall and officially the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa.

In times of national tragedy, South Africans come together. We’ve always done so, and we always will. It is what makes us such a resilient people. When Parliament burnt down on the 2nd of January, we knew we had to do what we could to help – by offering our venues so that Parliament could continue.

It did not occur to me at the time that the date of the State of the Nation Address was just the day before the commemoration of Nelson Mandela’s first speech as a free man on 11 Feb 1990.

This makes today’s event particularly historic and symbolic. It brings our country full circle, to the re-assertion of our founding values articulated by Madiba on that day.

In a time when many South Africans feel a sense of concern about what is happening in our country, may this SONA underscore our renewed commitment to those founding values.

I think particularly of the fear and discrimination currently being suffered by immigrants in South Africa. This is not the behaviour that demonstrates the very best of our country – it harkens back to our very worst instincts. No one should need to apologise for who they are where they come from in South Africa.

Today signals a moment to move forward to renewal and hope.

We watched in horror as the smoke billowed from the Parliament buildings, with priceless art and history being lost forever.

We took heart in the brave and swift actions of the firefighters who worked tirelessly to save as much as they could of Parliament.

I am pleased that the offer of City Hall as a venue for SONA was accepted in the spirit of national unity. We hope to build on this collaborative spirit in the future. As final preparations are made, we wish you success and we feel proud to be able to play our part.

Source: City Of Cape Town