Still no answers three months after tragic George building collapse

It has been three months since the tragic building collapse in George in the Western Cape and still there seems to be little to no details on the investigation.

On Monday, May 6, a five-story building collapsed in Victoria Street just after 2pm.

Initially, it was estimated that 81 construction workers were on-site at the time of the incident, and after days of rescue efforts, 34 people were declared dead. At the end of rescue recovery and operations, it was confirmed that 62 workers were on-site at the time of the incident.

The site was handed over to the South African Police Service (SAPS) for investigation.

Provincial police spokesperson, Sergeant Christopher Spies said an inquest into the death of the workers on the construction site is the subject of an ongoing police investigation.

“There are no timeframes attached to the matter. The case docket will be sent to the National Prosecuting Authority upon conclusion of the police investigation for a decision. Due to the nature of the probe, we're unable to divulge any further information at this stage,” Spies said.

Since the incident, there have been widespread reports that three directors of Neo Victoria Developments (Pty) Ltd, the apartment block’s developers, had quietly resigned.

Dylan Brockway and Harry Gey van Pittius resigned a week after the tragic incident while Johannes Swanepoel resigned on June 18.

The reasons for the resignations are not known at this stage and the remaining director, Carel Swanepoel is the only one still employed and most likely to answer questions pertaining to the incident.

IOL reached out to the company’s legal representatives, but there was no response.

Previously, the law firm stated that its client was the developer of the building project and not the building contractor. They clarified that the contractor was appointed by their client to oversee the construction of the five-storey building. The statement further said the developers had no employees on the site and the construction workers had been employed by either contractors or sub-contractors.

IOL also reached out to the Director of Liatel Developments, Theuns Kruger, the contracted builder of the structure, however, no response was received.

At the time, then National Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Sihle Zikalala said the contractor responsible for the building in George was not registered with the Construction Industry Development Board.

In June, the Engineering Council of South Africa (Ecsa) suspended the structural engineer on the project.

It said the decision was made as a preventative measure, undertaken to “protect any potential and/or actual prejudice to public health and safety as a result of engineering-related undertakings”.

"The precautionary suspension by the Council is not a disciplinary action, but a temporary removal of and/or restriction on all of the Registered Person's rights, privileges, and/or activities associated with professional registration with the ECSA," the council said in a statement.

It said it would maintain the suspension until a decision was made regarding the potential charges against the engineer and/or the finalisation of any subsequent disciplinary action or appeal.

IOL reached out to the George Municipality who said it had not undertaken any investigation.

“Please note the investigations being undertaken are by SAPS, Department of Labour and an independent investigation launched by the Office of the Premier, Western Cape. George Municipality has not undertaken any investigations in this regard and is not privy to any outcomes of the three investigations listed,” municipality spokesperson, Chantel Edwards said.

When asked if the site was still closed, Edwards said it was handed back to the developers.

She also said this was the worst tragic incident to take place in George.

“Of this nature, yes. To my knowledge, this was the largest building collapse of its kind in South Africa,” Edwards said.

She said the municipality is reviewing its processes regarding developments.

“George Municipality has thoroughly reviewed the internal Municipal processes regarding developments and we await the outcome of the final investigations,” Edwards explained.

When asked if the municipality had offered assistance to survivors and families of the deceased, Edwards responded: “George Municipality received donations from approximately 148 individuals/organisations totalling R173,000.

“The municipality has engaged with a non-profit organisation (NPO) and a Memorandum of Agreement has been signed for the administering of the funds (R173,000) on instruction of the municipality, and to ensure that reporting and governance controls are in place.

“A structure has been put in place by the Western Cape Department of Social Development to co-ordinate the relief efforts of the many different organisations involved, which includes George Municipality, and as needs are received for individuals, these will be evaluated for the best method of assistance,” Edwards said.

In his opening of the 7th Provincial Parliament, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said a preliminary report stemming from the provincial government’s investigation into the building collapse was received by MEC Tertius Simmers.

Winde said the report would be studied and the provincial government’s next steps would be guided by the contents of the document.

He reiterated his commitment to ensuring that those responsible for this unspeakable tragedy must face the full might of the law.

“We must allow the relevant authorities probing this incident the space to complete their work,” Winde added.

robin.francke@iol.co.za

IOL

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