Broken concrete, broken lives: One year since the George disaster

Update

GEORGE NEWS - One year later and families are still in the dark. An emotionally charged memorial service was held at the George Municipal Hall on Tuesday 6 May, less than 100m away from where a multi-storey apartment building under construction at 75 Victoria Street had imploded exactly a year ago.

In what has since become known as the biggest construction disaster in South Africa, it took only five seconds for 6 000 tonnes of concrete to crash down onto 62 workers, killing 34 and seriously injuring 28.

For the next 11 days, more than 140 rescue workers and a number of highly trained sniffer dogs would work tirelessly to retrieve every entombed body.

The mood inside the municipal hall was sombre and emotions were heavy as about 500 people, including survivors, relatives of the deceased, those involved in the rescue and recovery operations, the police and other interested parties gathered to mark one year since the building collapse.

A heartfelt performance by the George Spiritual Gospel Singers reduced grieving family members to loud weeping.

Babalwa Ntente, the widow of Zakhele, was inconsolable. The disaster happened on their daughter's 10th birthday. Throughout the ceremony, Babalwa's older son, Liyathanya, was by her side, comforting and consoling her. They had travelled from Mozambique to pay their respects.

Babalwa Ntente, the widow of Zakhele, and her son, Liyathanya, light a candle for the 43 deceased. Photo: Jacqueline Herbst

Khanyi Fortuin paid tribute to the youngest victim, Sihle Mehlo, who was only 20 when she died. Sihle was a bright young mind, working to become an electrician, just like her father. On the day of the incident, she did something unusual, popping in at the municipal office across the road to greet her mother, Rose. She told Rose how beautiful she was and asked if they could take a picture together. That was the last picture they'd ever take together. The last Rose saw of Sihle was her looking back, smiling and leaving.

Praise followed the celebration of a miracle baby born from the disaster. Moses Malala and his new wife, Portia Msimanga, had both been working on the site when it collapsed. Portia was three months pregnant. Miraculously, Moses, Portia and their unborn child survived. They named their baby girl 'Survivor' when she was born.

Minister commits to justice for victims

Speaking at the memorial service, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean MacPherson said the report by the Council for the Built Environment (CBE) and its body, the Engineering Council of South Arica (Ecsa), should be completed by the end of May. He vowed to return to George to communicate its outcomes to the victims' families.

"This tragedy should never have happened. It was preventable and because of that, it must never happen again. The lives lost in the collapse must not be in vain. To honour their memory, we are compelled to strengthen accountability, fix regulatory failures and put public safety first," MacPherson said.

He reiterated that there were lapses across various sectors of the public sector, a clear litany of failures, which is why he has insisted on transparency in their work and that those who fail in their duties, whether public servants of professionals, must face the consequences.

"Concrete is the second most used substance on Earth after water. Reinforced concrete buildings have been built since the 20th century. There is no excuse for a five-storey residential building to collapse during construction in 2024. Accountability cannot be optional when human tragedy takes place at the hands of human beings," he said.

The collapse turned Shadrack Maine into a double amputee. He travelled from Lesotho to attend the first anniversary memorial service on 6 May. Photos: Jacqueline Herbst

While his ministry had commissioned an in-depth investigation into what went wrong, MacPherson highlighted a lack of co-operation between entities like the Ecsa, the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC), local authorities and the departments responsible for implementation and oversight.

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He added his department was actively engaging with the SAPS, the National Prosecuting Authority and regulatory bodies in the prosecutorial led investigation to ensure that if there is criminal liability, it is acted on swiftly.

He said based on a briefing he had had with the SAPS earlier in the day, he was confident that people would be convicted of criminality and professional misconduct.

"No one should be above the law - not an engineer, not a developer, not an official."

The convoluted investigation process currently involves four reports that will eventually all feed into the overall SAPS investigation. The Western Cape Government had launched its investigation straight after the disaster. It included taking rubble off the site to be inspected. This investigation has been concluded and handed over to the police.

Then there is the recently concluded forensic investigation done by the NHBRC for the human settlements department. The third is a report by the Department of Labour that is still outstanding, and the fourth is the investigation launched by the public works and infrastructure department involving the CBE and Ecsa, expected to be concluded by the end of May. Meanwhile, the police's own investigation is reportedly 65% complete.

Once all the pieces come together, a picture of whether there will be criminal charges, who could be charged and what charges could be laid, will begin to emerge.

The cleaned up 75 Victoria Street disaster site as it stands today. Photo: Jacqueline Herbst