Durban - One year after the collapse of the Tongaat Mall, families of the dead and survivors say the construction disaster has changed their lives drastically.
Construction workers Zwelibanzi Masuku and Zakithi Nxumalo died and 49 others were injured when a section of the mall caved in last November.
The R208 million shopping centre was being developed by Rectangle Property Investments, whose sole director is businessman Jay Singh’s son, Ravi Jagadasan.
The company Gralio Precast lists Jagadasan and his stepmother, Shireen Annamalay, as directors. Jagadasan has previously said his father was Gralio’s chief executive and was in charge of construction of the mall.
A Labour Department commission of inquiry, set up to investigate whether negligence led to the collapse, is expected to complete its work next year. The commission’s report will be sent to the National Director of Public Prosecutions.
Evidence before the commission was that the project had no approved plans, and high court orders granted to stop the construction before the collapse were not heeded. Issues of shoddy workmanship and poor construction methods have also been raised.
On Wednesday Masuku’s sister, Theodara Maxhakana, said her brother’s death was an “open wound that has not yet healed”.
“His wife died in 2008 and his children were orphaned when that slab buried him. It’s been hard on the family, especially his daughters because they are still in school,” she said.
Maxhakana, who waited at the site for four days for Masuku’s body to be found, said her nieces were now her responsibility.
She said she had received no aid from the Labour Department or Gralio.
Thomas Medu, who worked as a labourer at the site, said he was working for another construction firm in Ballito.
Medu, who broke his arm in the disaster, said work opportunities were limited because of his injury.
“It can become painful at times. I cannot lift blocks any more, I can only carry bricks.”
The workers said they had not received compensation from the Labour Department.
Singh’s spokesman, Mervin Reddy, said once the mall was complete they would lay a plaque or build a fountain in remembrance of the two workers who died.
The Mercury