{"id":295946,"date":"2026-03-25T10:06:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T08:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/historic-botha-sigcau-building-severely-damaged-in-mthatha-fire\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T10:08:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T08:08:50","slug":"historic-botha-sigcau-building-severely-damaged-in-mthatha-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/historic-botha-sigcau-building-severely-damaged-in-mthatha-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Historic Botha Sigcau building severely damaged in Mthatha fire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MTHATHA<\/strong> – A historic government building in Mthatha, the Botha Sigcau building, has been gutted by fire, severely damaging a key public facility that houses several government departments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MEC for the Eastern Cape Department of Public Works, Infrastructure and Human Settlements<\/a>, Siphokazi Lusithi, said the department was \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d following the incident last night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firefighters and emergency personnel from the OR Tambo District Municipality, together with officials from the Eastern Cape Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, are currently on site attending to the fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The building accommodates a number of government departments, and Lusithi confirmed that the department will \u201curgently engage with affected departments to ensure business continuity and minimise any disruption to service delivery\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She reassured residents that government is working to limit the impact on essential services, stating that \u201cevery effort is being made to implement contingency measures to ensure that critical service delivery functions continue uninterrupted\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Government has indicated that further details regarding temporary arrangements will be communicated as soon as they become available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to the seriousness and sensitivity of the matter, Lusithi is expected to visit the scene today (Wednesday, 25 March).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will continue to monitor the situation closely and work with relevant stakeholders to assess the extent of the damage and determine the necessary interventions, including plans for the restoration of this important public asset,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALSO READ: <\/strong>Community mobilises as fire damages Summerstrand substation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A historic government building in Mthatha, the Botha Sigcawu Building, has been gutted by fire, damaging a key facility housing several 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Sigcau building gutted by devastating fire | Mthatha Express<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Critical public facility Botha Sigcau building in Mthatha was gutted by fire, prompting urgent action from officials.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/historic-botha-sigcau-building-severely-damaged-in-mthatha-fire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Historic Botha Sigcau building severely damaged in Mthatha fire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Critical public facility Botha Sigcau building in Mthatha was gutted by fire, prompting urgent action from officials.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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