News24 reports that it has been nearly three months since the release of a report into the explosion at the Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) factory in Somerset West, but so far there have been no consequences.

The Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) was appointed to investigate the events of September 2018 and it established a section 32 inquiry into the explosion, which killed eight people. A total of 26 witnesses, which included technical experts, former employers and current staff and investigators, testified during the inquiry. They testified about structural shortcomings, defective designs, as well as unnecessary overtime, even when there were no large orders. The report details several contraventions, including a failure to conduct a risk assessment when installing a particular new valve. The inquiry's chairperson made a recommendation for criminal prosecution and said "the incident was caused by an act of omission of criminal nature on the part of Rheinmetall Denel Munition (Pty) Ltd, as represented by Norbert Schultze, the chief executive officer at the time of the incident". RDM said in a brief statement: "We have noted the content of the report. As we have done throughout this process, we will continue to support any process we are required to participate in.” Meanwhile, trade union Cosatu said: “"Whoever was guilty of this must be brought to book, families were deprived of an income, and we have lost workers.” Numerous queries sent to the DEL elicited no response.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marvin Charles at News24 (subscriber access only)

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