South Africa
George building collapse: Two years on, calls grow for justice and accountability─── ZENANDE MPAME 15:20 Fri, 08 May 2026
As South Africa marks the anniversary the devastating Victoria Street building collapse in George, attention is increasingly shifting from remembrance to accountability.
Wednesday (6/5) marked two years since the collapse of a building in Victoria Street in George that claimed the lives of 34 construction workers and left 28 others seriously injured. The five-storey building caved in at 75 Victoria Street in George’s CBD in May 2024.
The collapse buried workers under more than 6,000 t of concrete and steel in what remains South Africa’s deadliest building collapse. The disaster triggered an intensive eleven-day search-and-rescue operation involving emergency personnel from across the country.
As the country commemorates the anniversary of the tragedy, public works and infrastructure minister Dean Macpherson has called on the NPA to prosecute those responsible.
“Now that police have handed the investigation docket to the NPA, action must follow without further delays,” said Macpherson. “Delays in justice are prolonging the pain of families who have already waited too long for answers.
“No one should be above the law. Not an engineer, not a developer, not an official, and not any person whose actions or failures may have contributed to this disaster.”
He described the George building collapse as one of the most painful construction disasters in South Africa‘s recent history.
A report released last year by the Council for the Built Environment found that the developer, contractor, and engineer were responsible for the collapse. The findings intensified calls for accountability from affected families and political parties.
The Good Party has also called on the NPA to provide clarity on the current status of the case and the next steps toward possible prosecutions.
In a statement marking the second anniversary of the tragedy, the party said the pain of that day remains deeply felt across the George community.
“Lives were lost. While time has passed, the impact of that day is still deeply felt across the community,” the statement read.
“It remains a stark reminder of how quickly lives can change, and how critical it is to ensure accountability when systems fail.”
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