Pretoria – A series of building collapses that claimed 17 lives and injured 24 people has exposed recurring weaknesses in South Africa’s building control and construction oversight systems, Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson said.
Macpherson was speaking in Pretoria on Thursday as he presented findings from investigations into four building and construction incidents that occurred between December 2025 and March 2026.
The incidents involved buildings at Redcliffe in Verulam, eThekwini; Doornkop in Soweto; Ormonde in Johannesburg; and the Magnolia Development in Sea Point, Cape Town.
Macpherson said the investigations identified common problems involving inadequate oversight, weak enforcement, non-compliance and gaps in the regulatory system.
“The principal problem identified by these investigations is inconsistent implementation, inadequate oversight, weak enforcement and non-compliance. At the same time, the reports identify areas in which the regulatory framework itself requires modernisation and strengthening,” he said.
Construction without approval
One of the key findings was that significant construction work had been carried out without the necessary approvals.
Macpherson said Redcliffe and Ormonde provided clear examples of construction proceeding outside the formal regulatory system.
“In both cases, substantial construction had progressed without prior building approval. The investigations also raise concerns about the wider practice of construction proceeding first and approval being sought afterwards. That is unacceptable,” he said.
He rejected the view that building approval was merely an administrative requirement, saying it was an important safety mechanism.
“It is a public-safety control. The purpose of obtaining approval before construction is precisely to allow the relevant authority to consider whether what is proposed complies with the law before people are exposed to risk.”
Macpherson said allowing construction to proceed before approval was obtained undermined the purpose of the regulatory system.
Weak oversight during construction
The investigations also found that building control often focused too heavily on approving building plans, without sufficient monitoring once construction had started.
“The reports identify an excessive regulatory focus on the initial building-plan approval stage. Building control cannot stop when a plan receives a stamp,” Macpherson said.
He said authorities needed to know when construction started and maintain oversight throughout the building process.
The investigations further identified concerns about municipal capacity, including shortages of suitably qualified building-control officials and limited inspection capacity.
“The investigations raise concerns about shortages of suitably qualified building-control personnel, limited inspection capacity and the ability of municipalities to identify construction which has never entered the approval system,” he said.
Macpherson cautioned against treating all municipalities in the same way, saying the investigations found significant differences between the municipalities involved.
Professional accountability
The investigations also raised concerns about professional competence and accountability, including inadequate supervision and failures to fulfil statutory responsibilities.
They further questioned whether people responsible for specialised or high-risk work had the required qualifications and competence.
“The investigations raise concerns about inadequate supervision, failures to discharge statutory responsibilities and weaknesses in verifying whether people accepting responsibility for specialised or high-risk work have the required competence,” Macpherson said.
Another concern was poor information sharing between regulators.
“The sixth finding is that our regulators do not share enough information with one another. Lastly, the finding raised concerns about consequence management,” he said.
Macpherson said stronger penalties were needed for owners, developers, contractors and professionals who deliberately ignored legal requirements.
“Where owners, developers, contractors or professionals deliberately ignore statutory requirements, penalties must provide a real deterrent,” he said.
Government urged to detect risks earlier
The reports recommend stronger sanctions for breaches of planning and construction requirements, as well as improvements to building-control systems.
Macpherson said the four incidents should not be treated as isolated events.
“Taken together, these are not four isolated lessons. They reinforce weaknesses that Government has now seen emerge across successive structural incidents.”
He said government needed to improve its ability to identify risks before buildings collapsed.
“One of the important recommendations emerging from these investigations is that Government needs to become better at detecting risk before a collapse occurs,” Macpherson said.
He stressed that efforts to increase construction activity in South Africa must be accompanied by stronger safety controls.
“As we work to turn South Africa into a construction site, it is critical that we do so in an environment where building construction can be trusted and the loss of life avoided,” he said.
“Increasing the pace and scale of construction cannot come at the expense of safety. In fact, the more we build, the more important effective building control, competent professionals, proper construction management and strong enforcement become.”
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
