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repulsewarrior
Ministerial
Joined: 06 Jan 2006
Posts: 2152
Location: a cypriot in canada
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repulsewarrior
Ministerial
Joined: 06 Jan 2006
Posts: 2152
Location: a cypriot in canada
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Probe team visits collapsed THOK roof
By Leo Leonidou
THE PROBE into the collapse of the roof of the Nicosia Municipal Theatre officially began this week, with the team carrying out their initial site inspections.
The aim is to find out what exactly happened on June 11, after most of the seating area was crushed, only three years after a €5.5 million renovation project.
Thankfully the theatre was closed at the time, with the venue booked to host hundreds of schoolchildren for an end-of-year performance 24 hours later.
On June 18, the Cabinet appointed a three-man investigative committee to look into the incident. Heading the committee is Giorgos Ioannides, a Professor in the School of Civil Engineering at the National Metsovio Polytechnic in Greece. Committee members include civil engineers Costas Meletiou and Panicos Papadopoulos.
Yesterday, the team climbed on a special crane to inspect the top of the building, with evidence taken away from the scene.
“Our work has begun and on Thursday afternoon we visited the site for the first time before undertaking an aerial inspection on Friday,” said Ioannides.
The trio have already met with Nicosia Mayor Eleni Mavrou, during which the exact work that will take place was discussed.
“The committee will have all the powers in accordance with the law to undertake the investigation of the causes that led to the collapse of the Nicosia Municipal Theatre roof and any possible negligence or responsibility,” Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said at the time the committee was appointed.
He added that President Demetris Christofias had given clear instructions that the committee’s report be submitted to the Education Ministry as soon as possible.
“The President of the Republic has given clear instructions and orders that responsibility is apportioned where it is due and of course for those who are guilty to be punished… the intention is for the investigation to be concluded as soon as possible,” Stefanou said.
ETEK Technical Chamber President Christos Efthivoulou has said that the Chamber, “is interested in a thorough investigation so we can scientifically prove what led to the roof’s collapse.”
According to Ioannides, “the investigation is expected to run for the next six months due to the huge workload involved and we will make every attempt to stick to this timeframe.”
He added that special care will be taken while working on the site as it may not be structurally sound.”
The police have also interviewed theatre employees, technicians and members of the renovation team as part of the enquiry.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2008 |
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repulsewarrior
Ministerial
Joined: 06 Jan 2006
Posts: 2152
Location: a cypriot in canada
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MPs fail to extract information on theatre collapse
By Jacqueline Theodoulou
A PARLIAMENTARY discussion on the reasons behind the collapse of the roof at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre yesterday failed to shed light on the issue.
The reason was because there was still an on-going investigation into the matter, which limited what the parliamentary guests could or couldn’t say.
Former Nicosia Mayors Lellos Demetriades and Michalakis Zambelas were among those invited to the joint meeting by the House Education and Watchdog Committees, and both were very careful with what they told deputies, even after incessant questioning.
Zambelas submitted his police statements to the committees but refrained from commenting further.
The only hint emerged when deputy Nicosia mayor Stelios Ieronimides, who also worked with the two previous mayors, let slip that there was probably no static survey for THOK’s roof while the theatre’s renovation was being planned.
Ieronimides said the Nicosia Municipal Council had never been informed on “anything regarding the roof”, adding that there was only written correspondence between the municipality and the construction’s surveyor on how to renovate the roof.
Education Minister Andreas Demetriou, whose ministry is in charge of the National Theatre THOK, which was housed at the theatre, said the Investigative Committee was expected to announce its conclusions in mid January.
“Anything more said on the issue would be pointless,” he told reporters after the meeting.
DISY’s Nicos Tornaritis, who chairs the Education Committee, explained that the main aim of getting to the bottom of the “tragic event” was to pave the way for better handling of public tenders and an improvement of safety regulations in public buildings in order to avert similar incidents in the future.
The theatre’s roof collapsed back in June. Miraculously, it was closed on the night, and no one was hurt in the accident, which crushed almost the entire seating area. Twenty-four hours later, the theatre was booked to host hundreds of schoolchildren for an end-of-year performance.
Speaking after the meeting, the Chairman of the Watchdog Committee, Costas Constantinou of DISY, said it was too soon to reach any safe conclusions.
“This is an issue that concerns the Investigative Committee,” he said, adding that his committee would continue to observe the situation and pose questions when deemed necessary.
“The issue remains open,” he continued. “It appears that a serious error has taken place, which raises issues relating to the possible mishandling and squandering of public money.”
Constantinou brushed away reporters’ indications that it was too soon to call for a parliamentary meeting on the matter. “We are not superseding the Investigation Committee’s orders; we asked to be informed and through this procedure we believe we will be given the opportunity to spot any possible issues relating to mishandling, discrepancies and non-implementation of the laws on public tenders,” said Constantinou.
A less impressed Andros Kyprianou called on the Committee Chairman to be “very careful in executing parliamentary control”, considering an investigation was underway.
The AKEL deputy added that it was “irresponsible and superficial on part of the MPs to seek to express any opinions before an examination of the issue is completed”. He therefore suggested the discussion ended there, as deputies needed to be “extremely careful” in what they said on the issue.
“In January we will have the result of the Investigative Committee’s work and then we will be able to disuses the whole issue in a much more specific manner,” Kyprianou pointed out.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2008 |
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repulsewarrior
Ministerial
Joined: 06 Jan 2006
Posts: 2152
Location: a cypriot in canada
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Roof collapse: who’s to blame?
By Stefanos Evripidou
ONE OF the first things you learn as a law student is that property is nine tenths of the law, giving a slight indication of the concerns of the first law-makers.
As societies developed, the law expanded to cover new areas like negligence and human rights. The objectives of the law also widened. It is not just about punishment and deterrence. It is also about accountability for one’s actions, whether the protagonists are individual citizens or cogs in the powerful state machinery. Responsibility is the key.
On June 11, 2008, Cyprus nearly experienced a disaster that would have burnt in the memories of people for generations. The Nicosia Municipal Theatre roof collapsed on an empty auditorium, the night before school children were to stage an end of year production. The national theatre company, THOC, which used the theatre as a temporary home, happened to be away, rehearsing at the Blind School that month. The theatre has 1,200 seats, most of which would have been filled by children, families and teachers.
The fact that the roof did not collapse a day earlier or a day late is nothing short of a miracle. The fact that it collapsed two and a half years after the municipality spent almost €6m renovating the building is at best, shocking.
What caused the entire roof to collapse so soon after so much was spent on improving the structural integrity of the building?
Ten days ago, the Investigative Committee handed over its 25-page report plus annexes to the Education Ministry, which oversees the work of THOC.
Education Minister Andreas Demetriou refused to go into the details of the report, hinting only that: “The steel structure’s resistance, on which the roof was placed, was not evaluated correctly among other things.”
Demetriou said based on what had been explained to him the steel shears’ ability to withstand the weight of what was going to be hung from them was miscalculated.
He would not go into the legalities of apportioning blame, leaving it to the municipality, which owns the building, and Attorney general to decide on.
The Investigative Committee Chairman, George Ioannides, said the report did not apportion blame to particular people but provided the “technical reasons that caused the failure”.
However, the report lists the duties and competencies of everyone involved in the project, leaving scope for a link to be made which “could lead to people who bear some responsibility”, he added.
In other words, responsibility for the accident does exist in various proportions and at different levels. Ioannides hinted that there was more than one serious reason for the collapse, noting there could be primary responsibility and “other secondary aspects”.
So, should we expect to see further action on this issue or will the report find its way to a dusty shelf in some half-lit office.
As one social observer put it, “We need to address the culture of complacency that makes us all potentially guilty through neglect and negligence every day as we go about our daily business.”
When the report was first handed over, the Education Ministry delayed a full 24 hours before giving a copy to the Nicosia Municipality. According to a ministry source, they were wary of passing it over as the municipality was included in the list of potential suspects who could end up bearing responsibility for the accident.
After the insistence of Nicosia Mayor Eleni Mavrou, the report was finally handed over a day later.
“I read it with our legal advisor and now have to decide the next step,” Mavrou told the Sunday Mail from Paris.
The municipality will be looking into whether civil proceedings can be launched against any of the partners responsible for the renovation, while disciplinary actions against its own services has not been ruled out.
“In my view responsibilities do appear. The technical responsibility is obvious, what this means legally, is up to the legal advisor to tell us,” she said.
The Mayor said they would at all aspects, including possible negligence on the part of the municipality.
The report is also at the Attorney-general’s office, who will decide whether there is a case for criminal responsibilities.
Asked whether there was a chance nothing would be done, Mavrou replied: “No, because this is the only way we are going to get the money to fix the theatre. We will look at our civil law options independent of what the Attorney-general decides.”
Mavrou could not put a time frame on proceedings, noting: “It’s hard to say how long this will take because this kind of thing doesn’t happen very often, if ever.”
So rare that the level of interest in the report’s contents is sky high, particularly among those who could face criminal, civil or disciplinary proceedings against them, as confirmed by two independent sources.
Linos Chrysostomou, former head of ETEK (Scientific and Technical Chamber) believes the report has to be made public.
“I think the report should be made public if this investigation is to have value and to avoid similar actions in the future, especially when talking about public buildings,” he said.
The civil engineer said it would be prudent to check all public buildings to identify potential weaknesses and fix them.
“There have to be penalties not just to punish people but to give the message that there is a State, which punishes those who are negligent or don’t do their work properly.
“Unfortunately, the mentality here and the way people behave, shows they are not convinced that our society can punish those who violate the laws. If we enforce the law, citizens will feel more confident that laws are applied, as well as compelled to apply the laws themselves,” said Chrysostomou.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009 |
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repulsewarrior
Ministerial
Joined: 06 Jan 2006
Posts: 2152
Location: a cypriot in canada
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| The structural failure was due to the widespread, and malignant fungus called nepotism. |
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/municipality-files-suit-over-theatre-roof-collapse/20101002
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| They said the municipality did not hire an expert to carry out a structural integrity assessment of the roof when they first saw plaster flaking off the ceiling. This is standard practice when structures about to undergo renovations. This oversight was repeated by Mavrou's predecessor, Michalakis Zampelas. |
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| Zampelas assigned the architectural study to the company of Pefkios Georgiades, the late Education Minister, without inviting tenders, and then hired a relative to conduct the quantity surveying. The actual renovation works were undertaken by the A Panayides Company. |
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