George building collapse: Developer, contractor, engineer at fault - Engineering council

CAPE TOWN - A report by the Council for the Built Environment (CBE) has found that the developer, the contractor, and the engineer are responsible for the tragic George building collapse.

Officials from the CBE and the Engineering Council of South Africa briefed the media on the outcomes of their probes into the building collapse.

34 construction workers were killed and 28 others seriously injured when a partially built five-storey apartment block caved in in May last year.

The flouting of building regulations and the incompetence of the engineer are just some of the findings contained in the Council for the Built Environment report, which investigated the conduct of engineers on site.

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Council for the Built Environment CEO, Msizi Myeza, said the contractor also ignored the unusual movement of the roof slab two days before the tragedy.

"Cracks were also noted at the base of the column on the ground floor that resembled punched-through patterns. The site manager instructed that the cracks be patched with a mixture of sand, cement, and mortar."

Myeza said even the concrete used was of poor quality.

"The specifications called for 19 megapascal or 25 megapascal, but in the material supplied, there was 13, so obviously there was a problem," said Myeza

The Council also found that safety concerns were raised as far back as 2023.