1Min
South Africa
Nov 5, 2025
The Council for the Built Environment said the tragic building collapse in George could have been avoided if those responsible had followed construction protocols. The developer, contractor and engineer were flagged for flouting regulations and incompetence when a five-storey block collapsed, killing 34 and injuring 28
The deadly collapse of a five-storey residential building in George, Western Cape, has been confirmed as a preventable disaster that exposed deep-rooted failures within South Africa’s construction and regulatory systems.
The Council for the Built Environment (CBE) and the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) found that the tragedy could have been avoided if those responsible had followed proper construction protocols and oversight procedures.
The investigation revealed that the company responsible for the project registered it as a home-building development, concealing its true nature as a multi-storey structure. This allowed it to bypass stricter grading requirements and technical assessments meant for large-scale developments.
The NHBRC report showed that oversight mechanisms failed at every stage, from project registration to final inspection, allowing unqualified or unsupervised contractors to continue construction without adequate scrutiny.
Inspectors found that design and engineering processes were compromised by a lack of due diligence. The building’s geotechnical classification, soil testing and material quality assessments were either incomplete or ignored altogether. Structural engineers failed to flag critical weaknesses that later led to the building’s collapse, while municipal officials neglected to enforce mandatory site inspections and compliance checks.
The Council for the Built Environment said the collapse reflected a broader culture of negligence and poor accountability within the construction sector. The council’s spokesperson noted that the incident was not the result of one mistake but of “a chain of institutional and professional failures” that created the conditions for catastrophe.
Families of the 34 people who died and the 28 who were injured are demanding justice, as investigations continue into whether criminal charges will be brought against the developer, contractor and project engineers. Both the CBE and NHBRC have called for a comprehensive review of how building projects are registered, monitored and certified in South Africa, urging government to strengthen enforcement and ensure that only qualified professionals handle structural design and oversight.
