Deputy Minister Jomo Sibiya: National Construction Health and Safety Seminar

Program Directors: Senior specialist: Construction, explosives and MHI, Mr P Maphaha and Specialist: Explosive Mr I Mohapi
Inspector General: Ms A Moiloa
Chief Inspector: Ms M Ruiters
The Federated Employers' Mutual Assurance Company (FEMA): Ms N Toyo
The South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP): Mr M Chiunda / Adv T Fiduli
The South African Council for the Project and Construction Management Profession: Ms S Kwenaite
Chief Directors: Provincial Operations
Representatives of Organised Labour
Representatives of Organised Business
Distinguished guests
Senior managers and inspectors: Department of Employment and Labour
Ladies and gentlemen

Programme Director,

OHS is one of the most important pieces of legislation that is enforced by the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL). I am always grateful to have an opportunity to speak in gatherings of this nature.

Since I joined the DEL family, I have been acutely aware of worrisome levels of noncompliance with OHS. The picture is unrelentingly unchanging. This is pervasive across most sectors, hence the theme of this session today is:

“Prioritizing Construction Health and Safety”

The main focus of this seminar will be highlighting the key changes made in the draft construction regulations which are currently out for public comment. This is precisely to give the public an opportunity to engage with the Department and the critical stakeholders in the construction sector.

According to Statistics South Africa, capital spending by state-owned enterprises and national, provincial and local government continues to rise. The private sector is lagging behind the state on infrastructure development spend. However, private sector entities announced investment plans in 2024 with a total value of R95 billion. These included an R18 billion mixed-use development in Gauteng, a R4 billion investment by Volkswagen to upgrade its Kariega facility in the Eastern Cape, and a new private university for the Western Cape.

During the State of the Nation Address and debate, government outlined a number of infrastructure projects that are underway across the country. These include projects in water and sanitation, human settlements, renewable energy, recreational, heritage and maritime infrastructure. They also include road rehabilitation, the refurbishing of state-owned buildings to attract investors, and upgrading health facilities.

The challenge of the construction mafia that the industry has faced is being tackled head-on by the South African Police Service. Its Economic Infrastructure Task Teams are making headway in dealing with this criminality. Last year, stakeholders attending the National Construction Summit on Crime-Free Sites agreed to collaborate to address construction-site disruptions. Some of the measures agreed on included enhanced security measures on sites, community engagement, and the development of the emerging construction sector. Construction stoppages are on the decrease since these efforts commenced.

The construction sector is a major source of employment. It accounted for the largest job increases between the second and third quarters of last year. The first Construction Regulations were promulgated in 2003 and revised 11 years later. These are currently referred to as Construction Regulations 2014. Eleven years later, we promulgate the draft Construction Regulations 2025. The objective is to continue enhancing and prioritizing health and safety in the construction sector.

Key changes in the draft construction regulations include:

• Mandatory requirement for clients to provide pre-construction information
• The appointment of a construction health and safety manager
• Acceptance of electronic health and safety files
• Revised construction work permit requirements
• Mandatory involvement of designers during excavation work

The draft construction regulations still make it mandatory for clients to prioritise health and safety matters at the design and tender stages of a project and also throughout the lifespan of a project.

Clients have the following obligations in terms of the law:

• To prepare a design risk assessment for an intended construction work project
• To prepare a suitable, sufficiently documented and coherent site-specific health and safety specification for the intended construction work based on the design risk assessment
• To provide the designer with the health and safety specification
• To ensure that the designer takes the prepared health and safety specification into consideration during the design stage and produces a report
• To ensure that the potential principal contractor has the necessary competencies and resources to carry out the construction work safely

The Construction Regulations require that before the contract is put out to tender, the designer must make the following available in a report to the client:

• All relevant health and safety information about the design of the relevant structure that may affect the pricing of the construction work
• The geotechnical-science aspects, where appropriate
• The loading that the structure is designed to withstand
• Must also inform the client in writing of any known or anticipated dangers or hazards relating to the construction work, and make available all relevant information required for the safe execution of the work at the design stage or when the design is altered

During investigation of incidents of structural collapses, such information or evidence is often not found.

The 2025 Construction Health and Safety Seminar will focus on leveraging the elements of the Occupational Health and Safety system as set out in the Promotional Framework for Occupational Health and Safety Convention, 2006 (No. 187), and on strategies to strengthen national occupational health and safety systems to build resilience and to prepare and respond to the current crisis and in the future, also drawing on lessons learned and experiences from the world of work both in the Republic and internationally.

The International Labour Organisation's Construction Health and Safety manuals encourage that those concerned with the design and planning of a construction project should receive training in safety and health and should integrate the safety and health of the construction workers into the design and planning process in accordance with national laws, regulations and practices.

Care should be exercised by engineers, architects and other professional persons, not to include anything in the design which would necessitate the use of dangerous structural or other procedures or materials hazardous to health or safety which could be avoided by design modifications or by substitute materials. Those designing buildings, structures or other construction projects should take into account the safety matters associated with the maintenance and upkeep that could be hazardous.

Programme Director, our vision as the Department for the construction industry is to ensure that all stakeholders play their role. This ranges from clients, construction health and safety professionals to contractors, designers and engineers.

Let me also take this opportunity to recognise the immense contribution made by the following:

• Organised Labour
• Organised Business
• Health and Safety practitioners
• Clients in the construction industry
• Construction workers
• Federated Employers Mutual
• Compensation Fund
• The Inspectorate in the Department

We will continue to keep our doors open to our stakeholders and others in the request for improving occupational health and safety in the workplace.

In closing, I would like to remind us of the commitment made in the signing of the OHS Accord in October last year. Occupational Safety and Health continues to be in the spotlight.

Once promulgated, the Regulations will play an important role in the prevention of occupational incidents and diseases in the construction sector. As a Department, we subscribe to Vision Zero and we believe that one death, injury or illness is one too many. The Department is committed to the goal of zero injuries and diseases.

I look forward to robust and constructive engagements today and to ultimately see improved compliance levels in the country, particularly in high-risk sectors like the construction sector. I believe that it is possible and worthwhile.

Allow me to conclude with the words of Paul McNulty:
“If you think compliance is expensive, try noncompliance.”

I thank you.

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