‘No life must be lost on site’: Malema wants focus on collapsed George building’s plans

EFF leader Julius Malema wants building plans for the apartment building that collapsed while under construction in George, killing 33 people, to be in the spotlight during investigations. 

Malema addressed the media outside the building site on Sunday, expressing his concerns and expectations regarding the investigation into the disaster.

“We are awaiting the outcome of the investigation, particularly the approval of the building plans. You’ve got technical departments in the municipality which go into detail. It is important that the people responsible for approval of construction, specially big buildings, don’t cut corners, that they do a thorough job. We all work [and live] in high-rise buildings. This creates a lot of panic among our people,” he said. 

He said questions should be asked of the construction contractors working on the site about the workers being of different nationalities and possibly undocumented.

“We need to understand what the rationale is to employ people who don’t have documents because it fits into our perception that they can be exploited, and have no rights when they try to protest,” he said.

“We must make sure you get a job on the basis of your qualifications. If you are a qualified South African you must get employed, whether you are DA or ANC. It doesn't matter. Look at what happened at the building that collapsed. The person hired undocumented foreigners because they don't want to hire South Africans and pay them for proper skills.

“The person who caused the mess in that building, we are going to make sure he is arrested. Whether documented or undocumented, there was a loss of lives. The contractor must take responsibility, the developer must take responsibility. They must be prosecuted because no life must be lost on site in South Africa.”

He urged for a focus on safety and accountability rather than politicising the tragedy.

“We should be more concerned about that and not about politicising the issue. If a building can collapse in George, can you imagine what is going to happen in Collins Chabane or Malamulele? It will be worse if George can’t foresee things through the plans.”

The Sunday Times previously reported the workers on site were employed by a contractor and subcontractor. 

According to the George municipality there were 62 people on site when the building collapsed, including 15 South Africans, 19 Mozambicans, seven Zimbabweans, 13 Malawians and five people from Lesotho. The nationality of two people has not yet been determined.

Of the 62, 34 were rescued but 33 people lost their lives, including five who were rescued but later succumbed to their injuries in hospital.

The building collapse on May 6 sparked shock around the country.   

Western Cape premier Alan Winde on Friday reflected on the disaster's impact.   

“This disaster will be remembered for the immense and tragic loss of life, but also for the incredibly brave and selfless work carried out by more than 1,000 rescue, support, and volunteer workers since the incident occurred on May 6,” he said.

“The rescue operation involved the careful removal of more than 6,000 tonnes of rubble while searching for survivors. This has been an exceptionally difficult time for us all, but our disaster management workers and volunteers persevered with the sole aim of saving as many lives as possible.” 

Winde thanked all those involved.   

“There were so many tough and difficult moments for our teams on the ground during this operation, and I am so proud of our team for every life saved.”

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