JOHANNEBSURG - Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson has blamed systemic weaknesses and poor government oversight for the fatal Ormonde building collapse.
Nine workers died when a concrete slab gave way yesterday. Officials said there were no approved building plans for the destroyed structure.
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Macpherson said while the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure is the custodian of the physical structure development at a national level, this incident has exposed a fundamental challenge in how the built environment is regulated in South Africa.
He said the responsibility for different aspects of building control, workplace safety, professional regulation and enforcement is spread across multiple departments and across different spheres of government.
"When these systems do not operate in a fully coordinated manner, gaps emerge in oversight, compliance and accountability, particularly where unlawful construction occurs or where buildings are occupied without approval," he said.
Mcpherson condemned this incident citing that buildings are not meant to collapse.
"Nobody expects people to die in constructing buildings. They are supposed to be monuments to excellence, this is a monument to tragedy now and we do not want that playing out any further in this country," the Minster said.
Macpherson said they are moving towards questioning the city on how its regulatory processes work in terms of enforcement.
This as he noted with concern the continued pattern wherein building inspectors and planning department in metros are not as resourced as they should be.
The Minster said this was clear during the collapse of a building at Redcliffe, Verulam in Kwa-Zulu Natal.
At the time investigations revealed that the building collapsed while concrete was being poured.
There were also concerns about the quality of building materials used and poor craftmanship, including misaligned structural elements.
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City Manager, Floyd Brink said they will be meeting with building and landlord inspectors to do an audit in the area.
To date the area has 15 inspectors.