South Africa’s Construction Risk Has Changed, And The Industry Needs To Catch Up

Construction risk shift, industry must adapt

SOUTH Africa’s construction sector is facing a fundamental shift in how risk is understood and managed, with recent building collapses exposing deeper systemic weaknesses. According to Morag Evans, CEO of Databuild, incidents such as the George building collapse and the more recent failures in Johannesburg have exposed deeper structural issues. These are not isolated events but symptoms of a system under strain. “The sector has historically trea…

South Africa’s Construction Risk Has Changed, And The Industry Needs To Catch Up

The recent building collapses in South Africa have forced a difficult but necessary shift in how the industry thinks about risk. For years, safety was often treated as a site-level responsibility. Something managed through compliance checklists, safety officers, and periodic inspections. That view is no longer sustainable. Incidents such as the George building collapse and the more recent failures in Johannesburg have exposed deeper structural i…