Plea to probe fatal fire in CBD

Public Protector asked to investigate why employees’ complaints regarding safety were repeatedly ignored

STAFF complaints about the derelict state of a government building were dismissed as “delinquent” just weeks before a blaze engulfed it, killing three firefighters.

A Gauteng Department of Health employee has asked Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane to investigate a number of issues believed to have been ignored regarding the deadly tragedy.

In a complaint lodged last week, an employee who asked to remain anonymous wants Mkhwebane to investigate which senior officials repeatedly ignored complaints from staff regarding the Bank of Lisbon building in the Joburg CBD.

The employee claimed a number of senior officials, including former Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu and current MEC Gwen Ramokgopa, and head of department Mkhululi Lukhele, ignored complaints regarding the hazardous building.

The building housed three provincial departments – Human Settlements, Health and Co-operative Governance, and Traditional Affairs.

The MEC for Infrastructure Development, Jacob Mamabolo, said at the time that an internal report released a week before the September5 fire had revealed that the Bank of Lisbon was only 21% compliant with safety regulations. A building has to meet 85% of the occupational, safety and health standards before it can be deemed safe for occupation.

“Colleagues would repeatedly fall sick with respiratory ailments. This would be reported but dismissed as ‘staff being delinquent’.

“Five shop stewards were subsequently suspended by the then MEC, Qedani Mahlangu, in September 2015 (to) May 2017, for continually complaining about the unsafe building,” the complaint reads.

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union said the building, on Pixley ka Isaka Seme Street, had been a “ticking time bomb”.

“We see this as a case of complete negligence and disregard for people’s lives.

“Our members warned about the unsafe building, but were dismissed. Even after they returned to work, they would raise issues about the unsafe working conditions,” said Nehawu Gauteng deputy secretary Gracia Rikhotso.

The employee claims that after the fire, about 80 workers were accommodated at a building in Randburg where the department paid R23000 for each employee per month.

Mkhwebane’s acting spokesperson, Oupa Segalwe, confirmed that they had received the complaint.

“As is standard operating procedure, the matter has been subjected to an assessment process, which seeks to establish jurisdiction and merit. That process is pending. The public protector will be in a position to decide on the way forward after this process,” Segalwe said.

The employee said that no message had been sent out regarding a fire, but there were “reports of a possible fire” at about 10am.

“Mayhem ensued and almost all the employees were in panic mode. There were screams and a general state of confusion… Staff members were screaming for their lives,” she said, adding that the firefighters had arrived an hour later.

Some employees from the three departments had to stay at home due to working space being unavailable for several weeks.

The employee said that while some staff members were now reporting for duty at 45 Commissioner Street, which is still under construction, no announcement had been made officially.

“There are no working tools, there are no phone lines and there is no internet connection… There is a rumour that the cause of the fire is arson.

“(The) 23rd-floor staff members started the fire to conceal their shady dealings,” read the complaint.