No more preventable tragedies

Following the tragic Ormonde building collapse in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dr Victoria Hills, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), argues that competence and safety must be treated as non-negotiables across the global construction sector - warning that without stronger accountability, effective enforcement, skills development and ethical leadership, preventable tragedies will continue to cost lives.

“We have to do better. We are not calling for unnecessary red tape, but we cannot allow human lives to be lost because of greed and reckless behaviour".

Those were the words from the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure in South Africa, Ms Carol Phiri, following the tragic death of nine construction workers in Ormonde, Johannesburg, after a building collapsed on Monday, 2 March 2026.

As Ms Phiri put it in her statement, this collapse – like many others we have seen around the world – was entirely preventable.

And it deeply troubles me as Chief Executive of the world’s leading professional body for construction management that a small minority of people are still willing to gamble safety for bigger profits.

That brings me to talk about two things I consider to be non-negotiables for the construction sector, both in Sub-Saharan Africa and globally – quality & safety and competence.

Competency

At its core, competency is about more than qualifications or titles. It is about having the right skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours to carry out work safely and effectively.

It is about understanding not only how to build, but how to build responsibly. It's also a recognition that learning continues throughout our professional careers.

In the case of Ormonde, early indications point to failures in oversight and a culture where cutting corners had become normalised. That should concern every one of us. Because these are not isolated issues - they are systemic risks that emerge when competence is undervalued or, worse, ignored.

Across Sub-Saharan Africa, we are witnessing unprecedented levels of growth. Cities are expanding, infrastructure is scaling rapidly, and demand for housing and commercial space continues to rise.

Of course, this growth presents enormous opportunity for the construction sector - but it also places pressure on the supply chains and people in the workforce. We have seen throughout history that in such an environment, the temptation to prioritise speed and cost over quality and safety becomes greater.

However, across many markets in the region, the challenge is not the absence of regulatory frameworks, but rather the consistency of their implementation and enforcement. This creates environments where poor practice can persist despite the existence of standards.

And that is precisely why competence must be treated as a non-negotiable.

When competent professionals are in place – meaning properly trained and grounded in ethical practices - they challenge unsafe decisions. They ensure compliance and quality are upheld even when the pressure to deliver quickly or at reduced cost increases. Without those people, the industry becomes vulnerable.

Quality & Safety

When it comes to safety, there was a line in Ms Phiri’s statement which I could not agree with more:

“Every worker has the right to return home safely.

When corners are cut, workers pay with their lives. There must be clear consequences and firm repercussions for those responsible.”

So now comes the question of who is responsible for ensuring this culture of safety and competency is upheld. The answer, in my view, is that it is a collective responsibility. However, for this to be effective, accountability must be clearly defined and upheld in practice.

Governments must ensure that regulatory frameworks are robust and enforced. Too often, we see strong regulations on paper but weak implementation in practice. This creates gaps where poor practice can flourish.

Employers and clients also have a significant role to play. Procurement practices that reward the lowest cost above all else can directly influence behaviour on projects and increase the likelihood of corner-cutting that compromises safety and quality.

As an industry, we must also invest far more in skills development. The construction sector cannot thrive without a pipeline of capable, qualified professionals at every level - from tradespeople on site to project managers and beyond.

The role of CIOB

We at CIOB believe continuous professional development should not be optional but instead be embedded into how we work. Our new CPD policy members now need to complete a minimum of 25 hours of CPD work annually, with a mandatory three hours for each of CIOB’s core themes: professionalism, quality, health & safety and sustainability. We take competency very seriously and regularly audit CPD records and will act against anyone not meeting the requirements.

We have long championed competency frameworks that set clear expectations for knowledge, skills and ethical behaviour. But frameworks alone are not enough. They must be adopted, recognised and enforced across the industry.

This is why continued dialogue and collaboration across regulators, industry leaders and professional bodies is essential. Initiatives such as the upcoming CIOB Built Environment Professional Practice and Regulation Summit (Africa), which brings together key stakeholders including regulatory bodies such as the South African Council for the Project and Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP), provide an important platform for addressing these challenges and driving more consistent standards and accountability across the sector. Ultimately, tragedies like the one in Ormonde must not become just another headline that fades with time. It needs to be a moment that forces all of us in the industry to reflect and to act.

We cannot continue to allow a small minority of bad actors to undermine the integrity of an entire sector. And we certainly cannot allow workers to pay the ultimate price for failures that could and should have been avoided.

If we are serious about building the cities and infrastructure of the future, then we must be equally serious about how we build them - responsibly, ethically and safely.

Top Photo: Stock Image of Collapsed Building (Source: Atte Jaqueline Tigori | Dreamstime.com)