The Engineering Council of South Africa (Ecsa) has cancelled the registration of the engineer involved in the disastrous Neo Victoria building project and removed his name from the Ecsa register. The tragic collapse claimed 34 lives and injured 28 others.

According to George Herald, it also imposed the maximum permissible fine on him. Ecsa president TC Madikane said the respondent has until next Sunday to appeal the decision.

Madikane spoke at a media briefing in George last Saturday during Public Works Minister Dean MacPherson’s visit to the survivors and families impacted by the building collapse.

Madikane did not name the engineer, but in media reports following the building collapse on May 6 last year, he was reported to be Atholl Mitchell of the firm Mitchell and Associates in Cape Town. At the time of the collapse, he was under investigation by Ecsa for a complaint laid in 2023.

In an earlier complaint in 2019, there was insufficient evidence to support a breach of the Code of Conduct.

Ecsa suspended the respondent in June 2024 pending its investigation into the collapse.

Based on the findings of the final report concluded earlier, five charges were brought against him for contravening the rules of Ecsa’s Code of Conduct and Code of Practice.

A hearing was held on May 29 and 30 this year, which the respondent declined to attend. According to Madikane, a plea of not guilty was entered on the engineer’s behalf.

The verdict was guilty on all charges of violating the following rules in the Code of Conduct:

• Rule 3.1(a): Failure to discharge duties to employers, clients, associates and the public with due care, skill and diligence;
• Rule 3.1(c): Failure to adhere to professional norms when carrying out work;
• Rule 3.2(g): Misrepresentation of academic or professional qualifications or competency;
• Rule 3.3(a): Failure to give due regard to and prioritise the health, safety and interests of the public;
• Rule 8.1 of the Code of Practice: Failure to comply with relevant legislation, including the Engineering Profession Act 46 of 2000, Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993, National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act 103 of 1977, and National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998.

Engineer credentialling

At the briefing, MacPherson said one of the measures being proposed to prevent similar disasters in future is the introduction of a national credentialling scheme for built environment professionals to ‘distinguish the specialised skill sets from the generalists who are already professionally registered’.

“In the immediate, the first will be to address structural engineers working on high-risk buildings. It will no longer be enough to simply be professionally registered. Engineers will need to prove their competence for complex projects, just like pilots or surgeons.”

Reports submitted to police

The Ecsa report, as well as the recently completed report of the Council for the Built Environment, have been submitted to the police and will form part of the criminal investigation.

The only outstanding report on the building collapse is the one from the Employment and Labour Department.

MacPherson said he has ‘implored’ Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth to finalise it and urgently attend to the financial compensation for those injured in the collapse.

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