Joburg to launch city-wide development audit after deadly Ormonde collapse

Des Erasmus

Johannesburg city manager Floyd Brink has said the metro will immediately conduct a city-wide audit of developments after the collapse of an illegally erected building in Ormonde that left nine people dead.

 “Ormonde was a tragedy that could have been prevented. More than a structure failure, this was an oversight failure and we must confront that truth. There is a thin line between a thriving urban landscape and a catastrophic disaster. We must treat every sign-off as an oath to protect lives,” Brink said in a statement issued late on Tuesday night.

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Johannesburg’s inner city has long been plagued by unsafe, unlawfully occupied and poorly regulated buildings, and the construction thereof.  

The Sunday Times reported last year that the building-plan archive had been largely inaccessible since 2023, and that bribes were being solicited by