The GOOD Party shares the frustration expressed by Members of Parliament this week regarding the lack of progress in holding those responsible for the George building collapse accountable. But while the outrage is warranted, the proposed solution, to hold a closed-door, in-camera meeting, is not.
Accountability cannot take place behind closed doors.
Thirty-four lives were lost in one of the most devastating construction failures in recent memory. The public has a right to know who was responsible, what went wrong, and how those in power intend to prevent it from ever happening again.
Parliament’s Public Works Committee heard damning details this week that the building illegally expanded from four to five storeys, that workers raised alarms just days before the collapse, that a health and safety inspector mysteriously resigned mid-construction, and that a reported engineer has already faced multiple complaints. Yet, the forensic reports remain partially concealed, under the excuse of ongoing litigation and criminal investigations.
GOOD believes transparency and justice must go hand in hand. Some findings of the Council for the Built Environment’s (CBE) report have already been made public by the Minister. The full report must now be tabled before the George Municipal Council, as we have repeatedly called for. If George is to move forward, it must first confront its failures.
The reluctance to release names or act decisively only deepens the perception that regulatory bodies and municipal officials are more interested in shielding one another than in protecting workers and the public.
The people of George, and the families of the victims, deserve answers, not whispers in closed rooms.
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Is it? – Is that so? [iz-zit] A basic conversational word that can be inserted at various points in any conversation, meaning “oh, wow!” or “Is that so?” It can also be used when you don’t really feel like talking and don’t want to be rude but want to seem as if you’re listening. Example: “Last week we went on a game drive! Sho my bru! We saw loads of antelope!” “Is it, hey!”