Building collapse inquiry starts on October 29
The Meyersdal Structural Collapse Incident Inquiry to investigate the collapse of the house in the Eco Estate in Alberton will formally begin on October 29.
ALBERTON – The Department of Labour will be investigating the Meyersdal Eco Estate collapse with a eight-day inquiry that is set to start on October 29 and end on November 7.
The Inquiry follows the house collapse that took place on August 18 in the Meyersdal Eco Estate, Alberton.
The collapse led to the death of seven workers, hospitalisation of nine and the survival of eight workers.
“This prompted the Department of Labour to appoint the Commission of Inquiry in terms of section 32 of the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act. The Section 32 hearing is appointed to investigate acts of negligence that resulted in occupational injuries and the death of workers.”
The Department of Labour’s Senior Specialist: Construction, Health and Safety, Phumudzo Maphaha, is the Presiding Officer of the Inquiry. His fellow commissioners in the Inquiry are Department of Labour’s Principal Inspector, Christo du Preez, and Specialist Inspector, Lesibe Raphela,” Mokgadi Pela, Acting Ministerial Liaison Officer stated in a press release.
The parties who are expected to testify before the enquiry are: the owner of the house, workers, foreman, insurers, designers, the Engineering Council of South Africa, the National Home Builders Registration Council and the National Regulator for Compulsory Specification.
The Meyersdal Eco Estate disaster is the second biggest incident in the last 20 years that led to a high number of fatalities, surpassed only by the Injaka Bridge collapse in Mpumalanga that resulted in the death of 14 workers in 1996.
