South Africa George building collapse that killed 34 was preventable, says minister

A building collapse that killed 34 construction workers and injured dozens more in the Western Cape, town of George last May was “entirely preventable”, South Africa’s government says.

A newly released report into the 2024 tragedy revealed that serious safety concerns had been raised well before the partially-built five-storey apartment block came crashing down.

Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson said the collapse was the result of multiple failures including the use of substandard materials, structural cracks, and visible gaps.

“There were a number of red flags that were continually raised about this project,” said a visibly angry Macpherson.

Some of the defects in the building were detected a year before the building collapsed. The health and safety officer even resigned in protest but work continued the report found.

“The work should have stopped” Macpherson said.

Macpherson added that these signs were a chance to turn back but instead, problems with the building were “covered up”.

Workers reported feeling vibrations in the partially built structure, and being told to cover up holes with sand and substandard concrete, the report revealed.

Following what the minister described as an “emotional and painful” private meeting with survivors and families of victims, he called for criminal accountability for those found to have been negligent.

A police investigation is still ongoing but no arrests have been made.

Many survivors are still facing trauma, medical bills and struggling to put food on the table, Macpherson said.

One survivor of the disaster, Elelwani, tearfully told local media, that her life had changed dramatically in the last year.

She lost many of her teeth, struggles to eat and has been the subject of bullying. She appealed for money from well wishers.

Macpherson pledged to introduce regulations to improve oversight in construction and reform outdated legislation.

The probe was conducted by the Council for the Built Environment and a parallel investigation by the Engineering Council of South Africa.