Frelimo parliamentary delegation visits site of wall collapse at Zimpeto olympic pool

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Frelimo parliamentary delegation visits site of wall collapse at Zimpeto olympic pool

9:08 CAT | 24 Feb 2016

Folha de Maputo / A photo of the wall which collapsed

Margarida Talapa, head of the parliamentary group of Mozambique’s ruling Frelimo Party, on Tuesday called on all building contractors and supervisory companies to inspect carefully the materials used in public works to avoid tragic episodes such as the collapse of a wall last Saturday at the Olympic swimming pool in the outer Maputo suburb of Zimpeto.

The wall collapsed onto the car of the trainer of the national swimming team, Frederico dos Santos. He was killed, while his wife and son, and seven others were injured.

Talapa led a Frelimo parliamentary delegation to Zimpeto to see the wreckage for themselves. There has been suspicion of negligence in the construction of the swimming pool, which was built for the African Games held in Maputo in 2011. Mhoje_zimpetofrelimodeleg1_photo_jpg

The immediate reaction at the weekend from the Minister of Youth and Sport, Alberto Nkutumula, was that it was strange a wall less than five years old should collapse while much older structures in the same vicinity are still standing.

The contractor for the swimming pool was a consortium of the Portuguese companies Soares da Costa and Mota Engil, whose sole response so far has been that the building was only guaranteed for a year. Journalists, however, noted that the wall had been built without stabilizing pillars and beams.

Without making any specific criticism of the contractors, Talapa said “when we build a house to live in, we must be attentive to the dangers we might face in the future”.

She urged the government to bring “reliable results” from the inquiry now being undertaken by a specialist commission which is due to deliver its findings by the end of the week.

She urged that nobody should try to make political capital out of the tragedy. “We urge all our politicians not to politicize this matter”, Talapa said. “A life has been lost. There are Mozambican citizens who are now traumatized. We all need to express our solidarity and give moral strength to the families affected”.

Source: AIM