Engineering Council of South Africa Suspends Engineer linked to George building collapse

By My Engineers

The Engineering Council of South African, (Ecsa) has suspended the Engineer linked to George Building Collapse until a decision on potential charges against him, or once subsequent disciplinary action has been finalised.

According to a Statement signed by the Council Spokesperson, Ms Sybil Dlamini “The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) has exercised its powers under Section 14 of the Engineering Profession Act and imposed a precautionary suspension on the Registered Person linked to the George Building Collapse.

The Council said the decision was taken as a “preventative measure”, to preclude any potential or actual harm to public health and safety as a result of engineering-related activities.

The council however did not name the individual who was suspended, though the name had been published by various media sources in South Africa. In the days after the building collapse, Daily Maverick reported that the plans for the project were signed off by consulting engineer Atholl Mitchell. His company, Mitchell & Associates, served as structural and civil engineers and as the principal agent for the site.

The company is named in the engineering council’s statement on the suspension. According to the Council Statement, “The association between the Registered Person [sic] and the aforementioned company is currently under investigation by various stakeholders involved in this matter.

“In addition to the suspension, the Council, in accordance with Section 14 of the Act, will request the Registered Person and/or other identified stakeholders … provide, within seven calendar days from the date of the request, a comprehensive list of all engineering-related undertakings, projects and services rendered by the Registered Person in both personal and professional capacities, whether trading under the name and style of Mitchell and Associates or otherwise.

“At a minimum, the draft design and as-built drawings of the projects must be provided. Within three weeks thereafter, the contractor or accountable party for the project is required to provide an independent engineer’s report concerning 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 of experience who has actively practised in the field of structural engineering and who is/was not involved as a project team member. The report should address the structural assessment and structural integrity of the engineering-related undertakings.”

The council’s request encompasses all current and past projects handled by the engineer dating back three years. Once the reports have been submitted, a panel of council-appointed investigators will review them and prepare a report with findings, focused on structural integrity, for presentation to the investigating committee (IC).

“The Investigating Committee will then consider these findings and recommend any necessary steps to the Council concerning the powers and/or duties of the Council as outlined in the Act,” the council said.

The council, however said that the suspension was not a disciplinary action but a temporary removal of all the engineer’s rights, privileges and activities associated with professional registration with the council. The suspension will remain in place until a decision is made regarding potential charges against the engineer, or once subsequent disciplinary action has been finalised.

On 6 May 2024, a major tragedy occurred as an apartment building collapsed while under construction in George, South Africa. By the time rescue operation and efforts are concluded, George Municipality has reported 62 people were on the building site when the building collapse occurred; 34 people were successfully rescued; 33 people passed away, including five people who were rescued, but later succumbed to their injuries in hospital.

The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) is a statutory body established under the Engineering Profession Act (EPA), 46 of 2000  to regulate engineering profession in South Africa. Its core functions are the accreditation of engineering programmes, registration of persons as professionals in specified categories, and the regulation of the practice of registered persons.

It is important to note that Ecsa’s primary statutory mandate, as per the Engineering Profession Act 46 of 2000, limits improper conduct investigations to individuals registered with the council. This mandate does not extend to juristic entities, except as granted to the council under Section 14, which pertains to, among other responsibilities, public health and safety.

Media report that the suspended engineer had other complaints against him before the incident. This was confirmed by Ms Dlamini. One complaint was lodged in 2020. However, after an investigation into the matter, the council’s investigating committee determined that there was insufficient evidence to suggest a transgression of the Code of Conduct for Registered Persons.

A second complaint against the engineer was submitted to the 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 breaches of Ecsa’s Code of Conduct has been accepted by the Council and the matter will be heard in due course by the Disciplinary Tribunal,” Dlamini said.

“Ecsa’s investigation and/or disciplinary proceedings must be allowed to be completed unhindered. Ecsa will accordingly not be able to share full particulars of the said complaint until it has been finalised by the Tribunal and the Council of Ecsa.” Dlamini said.

Meanwhile, 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 accessing workers from other countries for interviews about the incident.

“We will now most probably have to go to those places and interview workers or bring them to this side to interview them because it must be an inclusive interview [process]. It can’t be just interviewing employers and not interviewing workers. And 80% of these workers were not from South Africa,” Esau said.

There is no timeline for the conclusion of the investigation and Esau said the outcome would not be made public. Investigations into the collapse are also being conducted by the Western Cape government and the South African Police Service.

“The outcome … goes to only one official, which is the national chief inspector. It doesn’t go anywhere else unless the chief inspector sees this as a direct prosecution. In that case, it will go straight to the National Prosecuting Authority,” he said.

About the Collapsed Building

On August 2020, the owner of a 1,228m²plot of land, Erf 15098, located on Victoria Street, sold the property for R2.07-million in a private sale to a company, Pacific Breeze Trading 91, registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission as being in the business of “general trading in all aspects”. The deal was finalised on 4 November 2020, according to the Deeds Office. In November 2020, the George Municipality held a “pre-consultation” meeting with an official, Ilane Huyser, and town planner Jan Vrolijk, as the “pre-applicant” for rezoning and deviations for the planned development.

Records show that applications were made by the owner, through Vrolijk, who was given power of attorney by Swanepoel, for changes to the original plans. These included an extra level, turning an original three-storey plan into a four-storey block, as well as adding basement parking. On 1 January 2021, Vrolijk was informed by Clinton Petersen, senior manager of town planning in the George Municipality, that the application for various changes had been approved. The development, it was later announced, would be completed by July 2024 with occupation in August.