Image: Werner Hills
The collapse of the five-storey building in George in the Western Cape more than a week ago points to the need for regular inspections and increased vigilance over construction sites.
More than a dozen people have been confirmed dead from the disaster while over 30 workers on the site when the building collapsed were still unaccounted for by yesterday afternoon.
This is a disaster that shouldn’t have happened because building developments are regulated and ought to be undertaken by professionals who know what is required and expected in such projects. In addition, the government has a responsibility to ensure public safety and enforce compliance with the law through development planning controls.
We still don’t know what exactly went wrong at the Neo Victoria 75 apartment development where 81 people are believed to have been working when the tragedy struck. But reports have started pointing to possible factors, including allegations that there were concerns over the planning of the collapsed building.
Allegations also emerged last week that the basement of the five-storey building had not been reinforced with concrete and was predominantly dirt during construction. The site was further described as a “disaster waiting to happen”. Often, the reason behind claims of poor workmanship is poor monitoring and lack of enforcement of compliance by authorities.
There have been other serious claims including alleged use of inexperienced cleaners to mix cement at the construction site. The families who lost their loved ones are waiting for the truth.
The department of employment and labour has vowed to get to the bottom of the matter with its investigation after minister Thulas Nxesi announced it had collected crucial building documents from the site. It is important that we know sooner what went wrong in this situation so we can prevent a similar calamity from happening.
But there is already some information in the public domain to begin to ask serious questions to the authorities on whether rules and controls were properly followed. We must also ask questions about complicity at different levels of the approval process of the municipality.
The lesson that we must all learn from this disaster is that public safety cannot be left to the government and developers alone. Communities where developments like the George building collapse took place and workers whose lives are endangered must raise the alarm and never back down until what is right is done.