Holomisa blames poor maintenance for Botha Sigcau building fire Estelle.Bronkhorst Thu, 03/26/2026 - 07:00
JOHANNESBURG - Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Bantu Holomisa says the Botha Sigcau building fire points to neglect of state facilities. Flames swept through the building, which is the Mthatha home of several government departments. Government staff who survived the fire say years of neglect made it a disaster waiting to happen. "I did write letters to the former heads of state, President Mbeki, President Zuma, and also to the current administration.
READ: UPDATE: Authorities investigating cause of Botha Sigcau building fire
"That is Cyril Ramaphosa's administration, wherein I said that the infrastructure of the erstwhile homelands and townships seemingly has not yet been integrated into a bigger infrastructure of South Africa, which was well developed when we took over," Holomisa said. "And that situation has led to a number of people complaining about the lack of maintenance of government buildings, buildings being occupied by people who are not supposed to be there, infrastructure of the roads, rivers, and so on. It is there for everybody to see." Authorities are expected to assess the extent of damage for the remainder of the week.
