An independent forensic investigation into the building that collapsed in George, in the Western Cape, last year, has found that systematic failures across multiple levels of oversight, noncompliance with regulatory standards and mismanagement by both the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) and the project’s personnel were responsible for the tragedy.

Briefing the media on the findings of the investigation, in Pretoria, on April 9, Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane said these failures included irregular status upliftment, late enrolment, inspection lapses, material quality issues and safety violations.

On May 6, 2024, the Neo Victoria project, a residential building that was still under construction, collapsed without warning, claiming the lives of 34 of the 62 construction workers on site.

Many of the survivors were also critically injured. Rescue efforts to extract survivors from the debris continued for about a week after the collapse.

In the aftermath, multiple investigations were initiated to determine the cause of the collapse and to hold accountable those responsible. The Department of Employment and Labour took over the site to conduct a formal inquiry, with additional investigations launched by provincial authorities and law enforcement agencies.

The NHBRC investigation focussed largely on the failures of inspectors and internal controls insofar as the council is concerned.

“Based on the outcome of the investigation, the NHBRC has since suspended the officials who have been mentioned in the report to enable further investigation into the matter. We have since handed the report to the law enforcement agencies,” Simelane said.

She confirmed to Engineering News that five officials implicated in the incident were currently suspended and were facing potential criminal charges, pending separate law enforcement investigations. The charges that will be levelled against them include dereliction of duty, misconduct, negligence, dishonesty, and misrepresentation in official inspection reports.

“There were some underlying [indications] that the systems were not just overlooked because of inefficiencies. There were creeping ins of man-made deficiencies . . . It can be that, for example, the municipality was unable to submit a form of its own overseeing of the building. They carry the responsibilities,” Simelane said.

The investigation led to several findings covering areas such as the homebuilder certification and homebuilder grading process, enrolment certification process, inspection model, technical manager appointment, role and certification including technical test, supervision or value chain supervision, inspection and structural defects, skills adequacy of non-technical engineering persons, validity of certification of internal and external competent persons and architects with professional bodies, the municipal building approval process, material quality and structural deficiencies, validity of the geotechnical report, engineering and soil classification of the site and adherence to the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The investigation into the homebuilder certification and grading process revealed significant irregularities in the registration. The company inaccurately presented its capabilities during the registration phase and failed to declare its intention to construct a multistorey building.

This omission breached NHBRC policies, which require transparency regarding a homebuilder's intended project scope and technical capacity. By bypassing this process, the company compromised the registration and certification of the project.

The enrolment process demonstrated significant non-compliance with NHBRC procedures, resulting in critical regulatory breaches and unauthorised approvals. The enrolment forms were processed on July 11, 2023, although the construction start date was scheduled for June 19, 2023.

The official responsible did not verify that the homebuilder was registered to construct the building, despite the plans showing that it was a multistorey structure. A contractor was therefore allowed to proceed with the construction of a multistorey building without proper enrolment.

Further, there was unlawful use of another official’s credentials to enrol the first phase of the project, reflecting a breakdown in the NHBRC’s internal control system.

The inspections carried out by NHBRC personnel were marked by several lapses and failures that significantly compromised regulatory oversight. One official conducted an initial inspection eight working days after project enrolment, exceeding the five-day window period stipulated in the NHBRC’s inspection protocol. Inspection reports also included units that had not yet been built.

The investigation found several breaches of Occupational Health and Safety standards on the construction site. These included failure to address safety concerns, resignation of the safety consultant, and absence of occupational health and safety provisions in NHBRC procedures.

The NHBRC’s inspection homes procedures lack clear guidelines for addressing occupational health and safety violations, leaving inspectors without the mandate to enforce safety compliance.

There were gaps in the competency of key personnel on site. Unqualified individuals without formal engineering or quantity surveying qualifications were involved in critical roles such as inspections.

The competency of the appointed technical manager was found to be lacking. The investigation revealed that oversight and assessment of the manager’s qualifications were not thoroughly reviewed at the time of appointment. This played a major role in the technical missteps observed during the construction.

The geotechnical report did not include crucial information such as trial pit locations, Dynamic Cone Penetrometer test results, and geological maps. These are essential for proper foundation design and site preparation.

The investigation revealed that the George municipality approved the building plans only after construction had already commenced, meaning the work on site began before approvals were finalised.

Simelane stated that the Department Human Settlements, together with the NHBRC, has started drafting a new Bill to address the deficiencies identified in the report and the accompanying recommendations.

“Based on these findings, the investigation report made several recommendations to enable the NHBRC to improve its processes, thus ensuring enhanced quality assurance, transparency, and enforcement efficiency, mainly for high-risk projects,” Simelane said.