Owner of collapsed Ormonde building nowhere to be found

March 3, 2026 94

Image credit: Johannesburg Emergency Services

The owner of the collapsed building in Ormonde is reportedly nowhere to be found, as authorities intensify efforts to establish accountability following the deadly incident.

Johannesburg Mayor, Dada Morero, said officials are struggling to trace and locate the property owner after at least nine people lost their lives when a two-storey structure under construction at a local business park gave way. Emergency services personnel remain on site.

Addressing the media in Ormonde, Morero also revealed that no building plans for the structure had been submitted to the city, raising serious concerns about compliance with municipal regulations and construction oversight.

“Remember, all we have now is the name of the company; we are still not able to get to the actual owners, but we are doing so. And you know, following this, there will be an official inquiry so that we can follow up on everything in this building.”

The mayor also expressed the possibility of demolishing the building.

“We have to follow what our bylaws say. In this instance, it means one, the city has to take the matter seriously and also lodge it with the courts, and then we must also demolish,” he added. However, the inquiry that will then be established will further give us details on how we’re going to act against the owners of the building, including the construction company.”

Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, said this incident has exposed a fundamental challenge in South Africa’s regulation of the built environment.

“It must also be said that this is now the third building collapse in a number of months, each incident carries its own specific circumstances but together, cumulatively speaking, we must understand what is behind these collapses and what more can we do as government. We must confront whether there are systematic conditions that are allowing these tragedies to take place in the first place.

He pointed to fragmented oversight as a key issue.

Owner of collapsed Ormonde building nowhere to be found Lindiwe Mpanza

Macpherson has called on the construction company and property owners to come forward, and urged the public to provide any information that could assist the investigation.

This afternoon, I visited the site of the tragic building collapse in Ormonde, south of Johannesburg, where nine people have lost their lives.

I offered my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and support to all those injured. We thank our brave emergency services… pic.twitter.com/lyjMeN9yDL

— Dean Macpherson MP (@DeanMacpherson) March 3, 2026

#Ormonde Building Collapse Latest Update. @CityofJoburgZA @CoJPublicSafety #JoburgBravest pic.twitter.com/dXxZC43eA3

— City of Joburg EMS (@CityofJoburgEMS) March 3, 2026