The Minister visited the site on Tuesday 3 March 2026 afternoon alongside emergency services, describing the incident as the third building collapse in the past three months and warning that the pattern raises serious concerns about possible systemic weaknesses in the regulation and enforcement of building standards in South Africa.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased and with all those who have been injured during this incredibly difficult time, as well as the workers and families affected by this tragedy. We furthermore thank the brave men and women in our emergency services who worked tirelessly to rescue survivors and recover bodies,” Macpherson said.
He confirmed that the Council for the Built Environment (CBE), which regulates professionals within the built environment sector, will investigate the circumstances surrounding the collapse to determine whether professional negligence, contravention of mandatory standards, or misconduct occurred.
“As I have said before, we should never normalise the collapse of any building. Buildings are not meant to collapse, and therefore, there must have been serious failures that led to the tragedy we witnessed. We are determined to get to the bottom of this and will release the findings publicly once the investigation has concluded. We will not hesitate to take action against any individual found to be complicit,” he said.
Macpherson added that he will expedite a meeting with the Minister of Human Settlements to review the regulation and enforcement of building standards nationally, with the aim of preventing similar tragedies in future.
“We need to be frank in acknowledging that repeated building collapses point to deeper structural issues that must be urgently reviewed to improve building safety and construction oversight. As we work to turn South Africa into a construction site, it is critical that we do so in an environment where building construction can be trusted and the loss of life avoided. By working together to find solutions, I have no doubt that we can strengthen the regulatory environment and build a better South Africa,” he added.
