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The minister of Human Settlements, Thembi Nkadimeng, says the investigation by the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHRBC) into the fatal George building collapse last year has revealed shocking findings, adding that officials named in the probe will face the music.
On Wednesday the minister released the forensic investigation report by a service provider appointed by the NHRBC into the tragic incident which claimed 34 lives and injured several others.
Highlighting some of the findings, minister Nkadimeng said that the developer had misrepresented its capabilities during the registration phase, and this led to the loss of lives.
“It (the developer) failed to declare its intention to construct a multi-storey building,” she said.
Nkadimeng reportedly also told the portfolio committee on Human Settlements last Friday that the developer had initially registered the building as a one-storey development.
The minister added that the investigation found "significant" non-compliance with the NHRBC’s enrollment procedures, resulting in critical regulatory breaches and unauthorised approvals.
“For example, the enrollment forms were processed on the 11th of July 2023, even though the construction start date was scheduled for the 19th of June 2023.”
“Thus, a contractor was allowed to proceed with the construction of a multi-storey building without the proper enrollment,” she said.
Nkadimeng said the investigation concluded that the collapse of the building was a result of "systematic" failures across multiple levels of oversight, non-compliance with regulatory standards, and mismanagement by both NHBRC and the project’s personnel.
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“These failures included irregular status upliftment, late enrolment, inspection lapses, material quality issues, and safety violations. The report points largely on the failures of inspectors and internal controls insofar as NHBRC is concerned.”
She said based on these findings, the NHRBC report recommended that the implicated officials be held accountable for their actions.
“The charges that will be levelled against them include dereliction of duty, misconduct, negligence, dishonesty, and misrepresentation in official inspection reports,” said Nkadimeng.
She added that based on the outcome of the investigation, the NHRBC has already suspended the officials mentioned in the report, and the matter has been handed over to the police.
“The Department has commenced with the work of drafting a new Bill to address the deficiencies, most of which mirror the findings contained in the report and the accompanying recommendations.”
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George Municipality meanwhile, said that it "does not have evidence alluding that the construction commenced prior to approval of the building plan."
This was in response to the minister's statement that the plans were approved while construction was underway.
In a statement on Tuesday, George Municipality provided a timeline following the submission of an initial pre-application for the rezoning of Erf 15098 on 3 September 2020, which was followed by a revised pre-application submission on 23 November 2020, proposing a five-storey block of flats with a rooftop deck.
"The rezoning application was submitted on 20 April 2021 and approval was granted on 01 October 2021. A site development plan was submitted on 21 April 2022 and approved on 25 May 2022, whereby it was confirmed that all the planning requirements applicable to the proposed development was addressed in the proposed layout," said spokesperson, Chantel Edwards.
She added that the building plan, consisting of a basement, ground floor parking, and four residential floors (a total of five storeys), was submitted on 12 July 2022 and approved on 6 July 2023 after being deferred for corrections and additional information.
"This building plan corresponded with the approved site development plan. In accordance with Section A22, the engineer informed the Municipality on 29 June 2023 that they intend to commence with construction on 3 July 2023.
"The Municipality advised that the plans were not yet approved. Further enquiry was made on 6 July 2023 upon which it was confirmed that the plans were approved," Edwards said.
George Municipality said that although it has not received the NHBRC’s full report, it has been noted in public statements that construction commenced without the required NHBRC enrolment certificate, and that the building was registered with the NHBRC as a single-storey structure.
"This process—registration, enrolment, and inspection—is carried out exclusively by the NHBRC in collaboration with the developer and their appointed professional team. Municipal building inspectors are not involved in this process. The only building plan application submitted with the Municipality was for a 5-storey development," she added.
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