Perhaps the collapse of the Ormonde building on Monday gives mayor Dada Morero and those who work with him a chance to take some responsibility, rise up to make those officials who aided the tragedy to account.
Yesterday, the mayor made startling revelations that the companies responsible for the construction of the building that took nine lives did not submit their building plans to the city’s planning and development office and they cannot be traced.
Building plans are key to any construction as they help the municipality to guide the developer about safe areas they can build on and how high their building can go in terms of height. New Word Order Investment 90, the developer in the Ormonde case, did not get this insight; instead, they built an illegal building that ended up being a coffin for its creators.
If Morero is telling the truth, then the company is at fault and should be blamed for the nine lives lost.
However, the mayor and his officials should shoulder some of this blame because the planning and development office has been in tatters right under Morero’s watch, and he, seemingly, has done little to resolve the issues there.
The planning and development office used to operate from the Metro Centre in Braamfontein, which has since become a ghost town following a 2023 fire and as a result, structural defects were identified in a technical report.
This resulted in employees working from home and only reporting for a few hours a day. Files that include building application forms are all stuck there and neglected. Private developers have not been able to get feedback on their plans unless they offer a colddrink.
That is the sad state of affairs, but that does not excuse the New World Order for not adhering to the law.
Morero must fix his house and stop pointing fingers at other people. Residents of Johannesburg are tired of being blamed for simple things such as water outages, potholes, and broken street lights when the municipality should be taking care of such basic services.
We hope the nine workers who died in the rubble will not have lost their lives in vain. We urge officials in the metro and the Gauteng government to take their positions seriously. Let them be seen to be decisive in fixing our city and fighting off the lawlessness that has turned itself into a barricade against any success.
Finger-pointing must come to an end, and the rule of law must take over.
