Joburg has shortage of building inspectors to monitor construction sites

There is a shortage of building inspectors, says Joburg city manager Floyd Brink. Only 59 of 132 inspectors are building control inspectors, which makes it impossible to visit and monitor all construction sites in the city.

Brink was speaking at the site of the tragedy in Ormonde, south of Johannesburg, where nine people were crushed after a building collapsed on Monday afternoon. One worker is still missing.

Adding to the lack of oversight of construction sites in Johannesburg, mayor Dada Morero said the city’s planning and development office has resource issues, adding that New World Order, the company responsible for the Ormonde building, had not submitted building plans for the structure.

The planning and development office, situated at the Metro Centre in Braamfontein, has become a ghost town following a 2023 fire and earlier reports of theft and vandalism. This resulted in employees working from home and only reporting for a few hours a day. Files — including building application forms — are neglected, resulting in approvals for buildings taking longer to process.

The Sowetan has established that New World Order is not registered with the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC), which regulates the building industry.

The regulator said registration details of New World Order Investments 90 Pty Ltd do not appear in its system.

Any person who is involved in the business of building homes is required by law to register with the NHBRC. Failure to do so constitutes a criminal offence

On Tuesday Sowetan supplied the regulator with the name of the company and its registration number as it appears on the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) database.

“Nothing comes out of our system from the name you have given us,” said NHBRC spokesperson Portia Sebulela, before asking Sowetan to supply her with the company’s registration number to help filter her search.

“Please note New World Order Investment 90 Pty Ltd registration number 2007/022322/07 is not registered with the NHBRC.”

Any person who is involved in the business of building homes is required by law to register with the NHBRC. Failure to do so constitutes a criminal offence.

The regulator’s website carries a warning for consumers: “The NHBRC certifies builders who meet the prescribed industry standards criteria in terms of technical competence, construction experience and financial capability.

“The Housing Consumer Protection Act also requires all new homes to be enrolled with the NHBRC at least 15 days prior to construction. Enrolling your home building project with the NHBRC protects you against poor building practices. Our building quality inspectors will inspect the construction of your home to ensure that it is not exposed to structural failure.”

However, as of Tuesday afternoon, there was no evidence that the company had submitted building plans before it began building.

The Sowetan visited the address of the company in Ormonde. An employee said the owner lives overseas.

The Sowetan understands that New World Order is owned by Tesmin Ghood, 71, and believes it is a company she started in 2007. The company has no internet footprint. Ghood is also the director of three other property investment companies that operate in Gauteng.

Sowetan