Expert: Spike in fatal construction site incidents alarming
An
engineering expert says he's alarmed by the spike in fatal incidents at
construction and repair sites in the country.
Katleho Moloi's made the comments as efforts to recover 44 people trapped under the rubble of a collapsed building in the Western Cape, enter their fourth day.
As of this morning, the number of construction workers who've lost their lives has gone up to nine.
Earlier this week, a contractor from KwaDukuza tragically drowned when water pipes burst, causing a trench he was working in, in Salt Rock, to collapse.
Last month, a man was electrocuted and died while working at a substation in Shakaskraal.
The DUT's Professor Moloi feels that training on construction site safety needs to be intensified.
"The risk assessments must be done before the commencement of any work to identify potential risks that can occur during or even before the work can commence."
He's also highlighted some of the projects government's pushing out, saying poor planning's partly to blame:
"No we know we are going towards the elections, so they are pushing alot of projects which are big and attempting to go through them timeously. You cannot build a bridge in two months. That's impossible. Some of that work is done harshly because they did not do proper planning."
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