KZN mall owner fingered

22 November 2013 - 02:05 By NIVASHNI NAIR
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The national Labour Department has appointed Phumi Maphapa to head a section 32 hearing against Jay Singh.

Section 32 is usually instituted against parties whose negligence results in occupational injuries and the death of workers.

Singh is the owner of the doomed Tongaat mall that collapsed and killed a worker on Tuesday.

The KwaZulu-Natal department of labour served Singh, the owner of the mall, with several compliance notices before the tragedy.

Departmental spokesman Nhlanhla Khumalo said yesterday it previously wanted the controversial property developer and well-connected millionaire to explain if his company, Rectangle Property Investments, complied with labour regulations.

Workers at the site were not registered with the labour department.

At least 29 other workers were injured when a slab the size of a soccer field collapsed .

"We never received notification from the constructor. We were not aware of the construction but as a department we had made visits to the site and served some notices," Khumalo said.

The department failed to stop the illegal development.

"We were aware that the municipality was taking the legal route so we wanted to allow them to proceed with that.

"Unfortunately, the project went on even though there was a court order," he said.

The eThekwini m unicipality said the company did not apply for building plans and was building without permission.

Days before the collapse, the municipality was granted a court order to stop construction.

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