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Engineer linked to George Building collapse suspended by Engineering Council of SA-BY Ronelle Snyders
The suspension will remain in place until a decision on possible charges against the engineer, or once subsequent disciplinary action has been completed.
The Engineering Council of South Africa (Ecsa) has suspended an engineer linked to the collapse of the George Building on precautionary measures. The decision was made as a “preventative measure,” to prevent any potential or actual harm to public health and safety resulting from engineering-related activities, according to the board.
While the board did not name the individual who was expelled, he told Daily Maverick that the name was published by several media sources and was “in the public domain.”
The building’s collapse on May 6 resulted in the deaths of 34 people. In the days following the incident, Daily Maverick reported that plans for the project had been signed off by consulting engineer Atholl Mitchell. His company, Mitchell & Associates, served as structural and civil engineers and as the lead agent for the site.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Consulting engineer who signed off plans for collapsed George Building reported missing – later foundThe company is mentioned in the engineering board’s statement about the suspension. Council spokesperson Sybil Dlamini said, “The association between the Registered Person [sic] and the aforementioned company is currently being investigated by various stakeholders involved in this matter.
“However, it is important to note that Ecsa’s primary statutory mandate, as per the Engineering Professions Act 46 of 2000, restricts improper conduct investigations to individuals registered with the council. This mandate does not extend to legal entities, except as granted to the council under Section 14, which relates to, among other responsibilities, public health and safety.”
The council said the suspension was not a disciplinary action but a temporary lifting of all the engineer’s rights, privileges and activities related to professional registration with the council. The suspension will remain in place until a decision is made on possible charges against the engineer, or once subsequent disciplinary action has been completed.
“In addition to the suspension, the Council shall, in accordance with Section 14 of the Act, request the Registered Person and/or other identified stakeholders to provide, within seven calendar days from the date of the request, a comprehensive list of all engineering – related businesses, projects and services rendered by the Registered Person in both personal and professional capacities, whether under the name and auspices of Mitchell and Associates or otherwise trading.
“The concept design and as-built drawings of the projects should at least be provided. Within three weeks thereafter, the contractor or accountable party to the project is required to provide an independent engineer’s report on the structural integrity of the structure.
“This report must be compiled by a Registered Person, specifically a structural engineer, with no less than 10 years’ experience who has actively practised in the field of structural engineering and who is/was involved as a project team member. The report should address the structural assessment and structural integrity of the engineering-related enterprises.”
The council’s request includes all current and past projects handled by the engineer, dating back three years. Once the reports are submitted, a panel of board-appointed investigators will review them and prepare a report with findings, focused on structural integrity, for submission to the investigative committee (OK).
“The Scrutiny Committee will then consider these findings and recommend any necessary steps to the Council regarding the powers and/or duties of the Board as set out in the Act,” the council said.
A history of complaints
Asked if the suspended engineer had other complaints against him at the time of the building fall, Dlamini confirmed that the council had received two previous complaints about his work. One complaint was filed in 2020. However, following an investigation into the matter, the board’s investigative committee determined that there was insufficient evidence to suggest a violation of the Code of Conduct for Registered Persons.A second complaint against the engineer was lodged with council in December 2023.
“This complaint was similarly investigated and an investigation report was considered by the IC of Ecsa. The IC’s recommendation of 16 February 2024 that the Registered Person should be charged with the various offences of Ecsa’s Code of Conduct has been accepted by the Council and the matter will be heard by the Disciplinary Tribunal in due course,” Dlamini said.
“Ecsa’s investigation and/or disciplinary proceedings should be allowed to be concluded unhindered. Ecsa will consequently not be able to share the full details of the said complaint until it is finalised by the Tribunal and the Council of Ecsa.”
This history of complaints is consistent with Mitchell’s record with the board. News24 previously reported that in February – months before the collapse of the George Building – the council’s investigative committee recommended that Mitchell be charged with breaches of the council’s code of conduct, following a complaint laid against him in December 2023. The news release said that Mitchell faced another complaint in 2020, which was dismissed due to insufficient evidence.
Department of Labor investigates
The Department of Employment and Labour’s investigation into the building collapse, led by provincial chief inspector David Esau, is ongoing. One of the challenges investigators have encountered is getting access to workers from other countries for interviews about the incident.“We will now most likely have to go to those places and interview workers or bring them to South Africa to interview them, because it has to be an inclusive interview [process]. It can be not only interviews with employers and not interviews with worker employees. And 80% of these workers were not from South Africa,” Esau said.
The site of the building’s collapse was returned to the owner, according to a report by the George Herald. The owner of the land is Neo Victoria Developments, while development coordination and management on the site was handled by Neotrend Developments and East Africa Development.
Esau told Daily Maverick that the Employment and Labor Department was unable to conduct an investigation at the site, as rescue and recovery efforts in the wake of the collapse left it “so messed up” that there was nothing left for investigators to use.
“Everything was moved to a landfill, which we then took possession of and we’re in the process of doing tests on the materials that are on site,” he said.
There is no timeline for the conclusion of the investigation and Esau said the outcome would not be announced.
“The result goes to just one official, who is the national chief inspector. It doesn’t go anywhere else unless the chief inspector sees it as a direct prosecution. In that case, it will go straight to the National Prosecuting Authority,” he said.
Investigations into the collapse are also being conducted by the Western Cape government and the South African Police Service.
(Daily Maverick)
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