The death toll in the George building collapse in the Western Cape has risen to 16. Photographer Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers
The George building collapse tragedy leaves more questions than answers. Questions around shoddy workmanship, quality of the materials used and whether due diligence was followed. Also, on what grounds had the structural engineer given the go-ahead? Did the building inspector sign off every floor as and when it was completed in order to move on to the next level?
For most of the week officials said the number of workers on site were 75 only to find out - a few days into the search - that six additional people were unaccounted for, bringing the total number of people to 81. Forty of those workers have been pulled from the rubble after the under-construction building caved in. Twelve of those who made it out alive have died. Forty-one construction workers still remain unaccounted for.
Concerning is the apparent improper record-keeping during the construction phase. In some instances, workers were only registered by their first names or nicknames. Many of the workers are also foreign nationals which raises the question around whether they were legally entitled to work in the country.
Who should take responsibility? The developer, the contractor or subcontractor, as little or no vetting is done by the contractor as to who works for the subcontractors. Perhaps this is something the building industry as a whole needs to start to regulate.
And what is more shocking is the eerie silence by the authorities. We have heard little from Liatel Developments, the contractors, with it only saying it was committed to co-operating with authorities to determine the cause of the incident. Further, all we know is the developer is NT Neotrend Group and the name of the development, Ice Projects.
It has been nearly a week since the fateful incident and we are no closer to finding out what happened. Five days into the search the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements in Parliament called for the National Home Builders Registration Council to investigate. Premier Alan Winde said independent structural engineer, Casper Hutten, had started investigating the cause of the collapse. He could, however, not say how long the investigation would take.
These probes or inquiries infamously take months if not years to complete. That’s little solace for the families who have lost loved ones or for the workers whose lives irrevocably changed after 2pm on Monday, May 6, 2024.
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