Engineer linked to George building collapse suspended by Engineering Council of SA

19 Jun 2024

The suspension will remain in place until a decision on potential charges against the engineer, or once subsequent disciplinary action has been finalised.

The Engineering Council of South Africa (Ecsa) has placed an engineer linked to the George building collapse on precautionary suspension. 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, according to the council.

While the council did not name the individual who was suspended, it told Daily Maverick that the name had been published by various media sources and “was in the public domain”.

The building collapse on 6 May killed 34 people. In the days after the incident, 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.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Consulting engineer who signed off plans for collapsed George building reported missing — later found

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

“However, 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.”

The council said 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.

“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.

A history of complaints

When asked if the suspended engineer had other complaints against him at the time of the building collapse, Dlamini confirmed that the council had received two previous complaints about his work. 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.”

This history of complaints matches accounts regarding Mitchell’s track record with the council. News24 previously reported that in February — months before the George building collapse — the council’s investigating 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 report stated that Mitchell had faced another complaint in 2020, which was dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

Read more in Daily Maverick: George building consultant previously faced engineering council probe, but evidence insufficient to prove transgression

Department of Labour investigation

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.

The site of the building collapse has been handed back 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 at the site were handled by Neotrend Developments and East Africa Development.

Esau told Daily Maverick that the Department of Employment and Labour was unable to conduct an investigation at the site as rescue and recovery efforts in the wake of the collapse had left it “so messed up” that there was nothing left for investigators to use.

“Everything was moved to a dump site, which we then took possession of and we are busy doing tests on the material that’s on the site,” he said.

There is no timeline for the conclusion of the investigation and Esau said the outcome would not be made public.

“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.

Investigations into the collapse are also being conducted by the Western Cape government and the South African Police Service. DM

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A history of complaints

Department of Labour investigation