Everything was under control according to the design engineer of the ill-fated Tongaat Mall, when it collapsed in November 2013, killing two and injuring 29.

Addressing the commission of enquiry into the tragedy, Durban businessman and owner of Gralio Precast – the company that was building the mall – Jay Singh had this to say: “I was under the impression that everything was in order.”

According to a SAPA report, Singh also refuted the testimony of engineer Andre Ballack, who testified last year that Singh had failed on several occasions to furnish him with test cube results essential to establishing the safety of the concrete structures.

This supports objective findings that indeed the concrete did not meet the required strength and that several steel bars were missing.

In what appears to be a serious blame game, Singh passively implicates his foreman by saying he trusted him, and he also claims to have raised concerns with Ballack about the building, who he claims gave him assurances. Singh also says that everything was being done the engineering design.