Conflict of interest halts Thongathi mall inquiry
A conflict of interest had temporarily halted the Department of Labour- (DoL-) led Thongathi commission of inquiry on the first day of hearings.
The commission of inquiry, which started on Tuesday, aimed to uncover the causes of the collapse in November of a section of the half-built Thongathi Mall, in KwaZulu-Natal, which had left two people dead and 29 others injured.
DoL occupational health and safety manager and the four-person commission’s presiding officer Phumudzo Maphaha suspended the proceedings to allow parties to “sort out representation and issues of conflict of interest”.
“Matters came to a halt when it was discovered that advocate Saleem Khan and his legal team instructed by attorney Rajan Naidoo were also representing various parties set to testify including Rectangle Properties, Gralio Precast [and] consultants and employees of the construction companies,” the DoL said in a statement.
Maphaha said the scenario represented a conflict of interest and he would not “allow a single firm of legal representatives to represent more than two parties”.
Ronnie Pillay, a foreman at the Thongathi Mall construction site on the day the large portion of one of the unfinished Tongaat-based shopping centre’s floors collapsed, was due to be the first witness to testify on Tuesday.
The current first phase of the Section-32 hearings, held at the municipal offices in Thongathi, would continue on Wednesday and conclude on Friday.
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