The contractor embroiled in the George Building collapse that claimed 34 lives nearly a year ago says he intends to take legal action against the individuals and companies he believes are responsible – while Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane says he faces criminal charges.

In an exclusive interview with the Cape Argus, Theuns Kruger, owner of Liatel Developments, said they were cooperating with authorities including the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC), and maintained that the company was not liable for the tragedy on May 6 last year, when a five-storey building collapsed in Victoria Street, George.

Kruger was responding to the findings of the investigation, which were revealed by Simelane during a Portfolio Committee meeting via parliament on Friday.

The report found that while the materials used in the construction were of good quality, the building’s structure was not designed to support the weight of the building.

Contractor, Liatel Developers, Neo Victoria Development, Engineer Athol Mitchell have been under the radar of the investigation.

On Sunday, attorney for the former directors of Neo Victoria Development, Ryan du Preez did not respond to queries.

Following the disaster, directors Dylan Brockway, Alwyn Gey van Pittius and Johannes Swanepoel resigned with Carel Swanepoel being the remaining member.

Kruger claimed while he did not see the report, he believed the company was misrepresented during various administrative processes and only became aware of the collapse that its name was used without consent during the NHBRC enrolment process.

“We have not seen the report as yet and therefore I cannot comment on any of the specifics in the report," he said.

“We can, however, state the following:

“As you are aware by now, Liatel was not the Developer, Liatel was the appointed Contractor.

“The development should have been enrolled by the Developer, in this instance Neo Victoria.

“Liatel even submitted an extension of time claim against the developer, Neo Victoria, for NHBRC enrolment delays. This claim was approved by the Developer and Liatel was afforded the extension of time.

“It is important to note that it is not the contractors responsibility, nor liability, to enroll developments at the NHBRC.

“This responsibility lies with the Developer.

“The enrollment was apparently done by Neo Victoria under the name of Liatel without our consent or knowledge.

“Liatel only became aware of this after the disaster when the NHBRC contacted us to obtain our banking details to refund the enrolment fees.

“On receipt of the enrolment documentation, we became aware of the misrepresentation. Also take note the fees aforementioned were paid by the Developer and not by Liatel.

“Liatel has the submitted documents and we are taking legal advice as to our options and actions against certain individuals and entities.

“I do suggest that you contact the Developers Mr Swanepoel and Mr Gouws, and also contact the Engineer, Mr Mitchell for comment. The enrollment was orchestrated by these individuals. The Geotechnical Report also lies within their responsibility. Liatel had no hand in the report.

“We have brought this to the attention of the SAPS and we gave our full cooperation to the NHBRC whilst they were investigating.

“We reiterate that we are currently obtaining legal advice against the individuals and/or entities aforementioned. This includes taking legal advice against the NHBRC for obvious reasons.”

Simelane revealed that the (NHBRC) failed to follow its internal processes during the registration phase and that the building was incorrectly registered as a single-story building, and that NHBRC officials failed to interrogate the change of building size and its implications.

Simelane confirmed that the approval process at the NHBRC has since been amended and that NHBRC officials and the construction company, Liatel Developments, have been referred to the police for further criminal investigation.

She also said that several critical lapses occurred such as the failure to properly disclose structural engineering drawings and details.

Engineer, Mitchell has been uncontactable since the disaster after he was reported missing and was featured on a missing persons’ poster by The Pink Ladies and was located safely soon thereafter.

Mitchell was placed on precautionary suspension by the ECSA, Engineering Council of South Africa.

Earlier in March Simelane said the preliminary report suggested that several procedures were not followed and was in breach of the Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act.

Political party, GOOD Party also called for the report to be released publicly: “As GOOD, we believe that the Minister should provide the full report to the George Municipality. Once tabled in council, we can interrogate its findings further. It is imperative that deviations in building plans are identified and addressed by the municipality.

“We hope the release of this report will give the families of the victims, as well as the survivors, some closure they deserve before the anniversary of this tragic event next month.”

One such victim is Ivaldo Macamo, from Mozambique, who lost his leg during the collapse, who is one of the 28 survivors and a plasterer before he became permanently disabled.

On Sunday, Macamo’s girlfriend, Sibahle Dumekhaya, who spoke on his behalf, said she had become the breadwinner of their family which included their three children.

She said they had not receive any news from authorities but suspected that the building structure was at fault.

“He is unable to work now, "she said.

“We have not heard anything from anyone.

“We thought it was that there was something wrong with the building structure.”

Cape Argus

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