5 OFFICIALS SUSPENDED AFTER FATAL COLLAPSE

Misconduct, negligence among charges

- GENEVIEVE SERRA

HUMAN Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane has announced that justice is being served, with five officials from the National Home Builders Regulatory Council (NHBRC) suspended.

The police will investigate these officials, along with developers from Neo Victoria Developments, regarding their involvement in the George building collapse that tragically caused 34 deaths last year.

A month before the one-year anniversary of the Victoria Street tragedy, Simelane addressed the media in Pretoria yesterday, where she publicly released the full report into the NHBRC's investigation.

The report has more than 280 pages with over 300 recommendations.

Simelane said the new Housing Consumer Protection Act, passed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in January, introduced significant changes to the legislative framework of South Africa's home building industry, as it established enforcement tools and prescribed appropriate penalties or sanctions to deter non-compliance by homebuilders.

She revealed damning evidence that George Municipality had approved the building plans despite it already being in construction.

"The investigation uncovered that the George Municipality approved the plans when the construction was already under way.

"This means the work on site started before approvals were finalised," she detailed.

The building was set to be a five-storey complex and construction started in 2023.

The minister warned that builders found to be non-compliant or in breach under the new Act could face a fine of up to R1 million.