Premier David Makhura has expressed concern at the delay of the inquiry into the collapse of the Grayston Bridge. The bridge on the M1 Highway and Grayston interchange collapsed on 14 October 2015. An inquiry into the cause of the collapse was set up by the Department of Labour. Murray and Roberts Infrastructure is the principal contractor appointed by the Johannesburg Development Agency to build the bridge.

It is now two years since the Grayston Bridge collapsed, killing two people and injuring 19 people.  The first sitting of the inquiry took place on 7 July 2016. However, the progress of the Inquiry has been slow, causing consternation by those affected and public concern regarding accountability. The inquiry has been postponed several times.

“On Thursday, 03 October, the officials of the Johannesburg Roads Agency briefed me and the Executive Mayor about yet another postponement of the inquiry to July 2018. I expressed my complete dissatisfaction with this delay which is at the expense of the victims and affected families”, Premier Makhura said.

The Premier added that it was completely unacceptable that two years after the incident, which resulted in deaths and injuries, there are still no answers and accountability on what happened.

Affected families have also complained bitterly about the delay. On Thursday 05 October, the Premier visited Irvin Katangane (23) and Bryce Carlinsky (21), who are among the survivors of the accident.

It was clear from the visits that the accident had greatly affected them and disrupted their lives irreversibly. Both Katangane and Carlinsky sustained severe injuries from the incident. Katangane and Carlinsky worked as call centre agents at the time of the incident. Carlinsky was off work for nine months due to the injuries, whilst Katangane attempted to go to back to work  after three months but quit as he could not cope with work. Carlinsky can only work for four hours a day at the call centre and this has affected his earnings.

“What is even more disheartening is that these are young lives that have been disrupted at their prime”, the Premier said.

They both informed the Premier that Murray and Roberts paid for their initial medical expenses but has since stopped. They still need medical care and counselling.

The Gauteng Provincial Government will assist the families with providing counselling and access to medical care in the public health and social development facilities.

The victims of the accident told the Premier that they did not have information on the case and only heard about the postponements from the news,

“We do not know which way to turn or who to ask questions from,” the families said.

The Premier undertook to talk to the parties involved to close the information gap.  He added that the provincial government will work with the Minister of Labour and the Mayor of Johannesburg to ensure that the plight of the families is not forgotten.

 

Issued by Gauteng Provincial Government