George building collapse investigation outcomes released

[FILE IMAGE]: The aftermath of the George building collapse.

Serious safety concerns, poor quality of materials and a lack of oversight are some of the reasons for the George building collapse on May 6 last year. These are some of the outcomes of an investigation by the Council for the Built Environment, which was released by the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, during a media briefing in the Western Cape today.

A total of 34 construction workers died, and 28 others were injured when a multi-story building on Victoria Street collapsed while under construction.

Macpherson said the collapse was entirely preventable and has vowed to introduce a number of legislative reforms, including modernising regulations to avoid such a tragedy from ever occurring again,

“In terms of mandatory structural reporting and oversight, the CBE will establish a reporting protocol that mandates the registration of any structural system failure. A hotline will be launched to allow workers in the built environment, as well as practitioners and professionals or members of the public, to anonymously raise safety concerns with them. These reports will trigger automatic inspections and where necessary, emergency site shutdowns,” says Macpherson.

[WATCH] A Limpopo woman who survived the George building collapse in the Western Cape on 6 May 2024 shares her struggle of coming to terms with the traumatic event that claimed 34 lives. 31-year-old Elelwani Mawela from Mabirimisa village near Louis Trichardt was among the 28… pic.twitter.com/p6Ws2rPTUI

— SABC News (@SABCNews) May 6, 2025