George building collapse: Risk management report shows builders' council cut corners
On Friday, Human Settlements Minister Thembi Nkadimeng shared the findings of an investigation with the parliamentary portfolio committee that officials had not properly registered the development before construction started.
FILE: Rescue teams battling in May 2024 to find construction workers trapped under the collapsed apartment block in George. Picture: Daniel Steyn/GroundUp
CAPE TOWN - A risk management report has revealed that officials of the National Home Builders’ Registration Council cut corners and manipulated their system in the late enrollment of the George building that collapsed in May last year, killing 34 people.
On Friday, Human Settlements Minister Thembi Nkadimeng shared the findings of an investigation with the parliamentary portfolio committee that officials had not properly registered the development before construction started.
Due process was also not followed to allow a one-storey building to morph into a multi-floor complex.
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An independent investigation commissioned by the National Home Builders’ Registration Council has revealed a chain of events in which officials did not follow due process – including allowing construction to start on the Victoria Street building without an enrolment certificate.
Somewhere between eight and 15 days later, only a single-storey building was registered.
Nkadimeng says the official who received the application was lax.
"The finding is she failed to review all the necessary documentation which was submitted by liatel, represented by Mr Kruger to ensure that all the sectional work and the titling, and the enrolment were correct," she said in Parliament.
The official who then recommended the application also overlooked the missing paperwork.
From there, another official used the login details of a colleague who was on leave at the time to access the system and approve the application.
At least three officials are facing disciplinary action, while at least two of them could also be criminally charged.
CEO Songezo Booi is also in hot water for allegedly not following the board’s instructions to place implicated officials on precautionary suspension during the investigation, instead placing them on special leave.
He’s been on suspension since last year.