Show leadership Mr Mayor

Three months ago, four children died at two construction sites in Hammanskraal, Pretoria.

They drowned in water-filled trenches which were not properly secured. The incidents appeared to be as a result of negligence by the contractors on the sites.

At the time, the City of Tshwane mayor Randall Williams described the deaths as “blatantly criminality”. He told this newspaper he would lay a criminal complaint with the police as safety protocols were not followed.

Three months later, it has emerged that the investigation by the City of Tshwane found that one company, which was responsible for the site at which three boys drowned, could not be held liable.

This is because barricades they used to secure the site were continually stolen by the community.

However, the city found that the second company responsible for the site at which one boy drowned, should be held liable for the incident.

Yet the response from the city this time is lukewarm and hugely disappointing.

Not only has Randall not laid a criminal complaint as he promised, the city is still contemplating whether to ban the company and pursue a lawsuit against it.

Even worse, the mayor’s spokesperson Jordan Griffiths told us the company had received “a bit of a lashing formally from the city”.

“If anything of this nature would happen again, the contractor would be totally dismissed and banned from doing work in the city in future,” Griffiths said.

This response demonstrates how the municipality has seemingly abandoned its responsibility to ensure accountability.

If the city’s investigation showed negligence of the part of the contractor that should be sufficient grounds for it to take appropriate action as far as its dealings with the company.

It therefore beggars belief that the city believes a “tongue lashing” is an appropriate and sufficient means of accountability.

It betrays a lack of empathy for the families of the children who died and disdain for the justice they deserve.

This tragedy demands Randall to step up and demonstrate leadership and a pursuit of accountability which he believed was “blatant criminality.”