Central SA
Bfn City Hall restored to former glory─── 10:57 Fri, 22 Oct 2021
The Bloemfontein City Hall, which was torched during a strike by municipal workers on 21 June 2017, was officially reopened more than four years later, on Thursday 21 October 2021.
Bloemfontein Courant's Corn Koteli and Sazly Hartzenberg reported during the reopening ceremony on Thursday morning, Mxolisi Siyonzana, Executive Mayor of the Mangaung Metro Municipality, explained that the subsequent expenditure relating to the renovations exceeded R32 million.
In spite of this, Siyonzana said his office is oozing with excitement as this is the day every resident of Mangaung has been waiting for — the day the Bloemfontein City Hall is finally ready for use by the citizens. He added the City Hall, together with the Raadsaal and the South African Supreme Court of Appeal, constitute an integral part of the sandstone heritage precinct in President Brand Street.
The principal agent in the project, architect Anton Roodt, who was present at the reopening, explained that this project was the highlight of his career. “It was an honour for me to give the City of Roses back its heart,” said Roodt.
READ MORE: Municipal workers torch Bfn City Hall, clash with police
Siyonzana made a call to citizens to say “no” to the kind of vandalism that damaged the City Hall more than four years ago. “Let’s seize the moment and say ‘enough is enough, it shall never be repeated again’,” pleaded Siyonzana.
