The Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg transformed dramatically from a sports arena to a paramedic ward nearly three years ago. Just two days after Christmas in 2012, when the joy and generous spirit of the festive season still lingered, temperatures inside the Harry Gwala stadium pitch soared above 30 degrees – much to the discomfort of aspiring traffic officers, who had lined up to take a fitness test.

Some 34,000 people took part in the run, competing for just 90 jobs. Each of the participants had earlier received text messages notifying them of their selection. The vast crowd was split into two groups, to be tested over two days. Some 15,500 job seekers took part on the first day and the rest were due to participate the second day.

To meet the traffic force’s minimum requirements, recruits had to be in possession of a senior certificate and valid driver’s licence as well as being physically fit, under 35 and without criminal records.

By the time the race began, temperatures on the pitch had reached 33 degrees. Heat exhaustion and dehydration had got the better of some of the running job seekers, who had allegedly not eaten or drunk anything all day. About 230 recruits collapsed in the hot sun; six died after collapsing, and a seventh was discovered dead when the stadium emptied. The eighth committed suicide upon hearing that he had not made it.

The recruits allegedly had no access to drinking water, shelter, ablution facilities or medical attention – and had been running in 33-degree heat around midday.

In temperatures that could heat fish in water, it was only the prospect of jobs that drove recruits to participate under these circumstances. The spark ignited by the likelihood of a better future was abruptly snuffed out, however, when scores of recruits could not cope with the conditions and collapsed. Hundreds looked on in horror from the stands while paramedics attended to felled recruits. Other recruits tried frantically to administer first aid on their colleagues who were most in need of water and shelter.

Meanwhile, questions should also be raised about the conditions on the day of the test. Not only the obvious lack of food, water, and access to medical supplies, but also the sheer numbers: 34,000 candidates for 90 jobs is simply too disproportionate and should have run an alarm bell. Perhaps lighter preliminary tests, facilitating an elimination process, could have assisted in averting tragedy, cutting the vast crowd of recruits and making it easier to provide the necessary facilities.

According to Statistics South Africa, young people aged 15 – 34 years accounted for more than two thirds of the long-term unemployed between 2008 and 2014, meaning the environment was ripe for a desperate surge of recruits seeking employment. But there is no doubt that had enough attention been paid to providing water in abundance and ablution facilities, a crisis would have been averted. Even if there were hundreds of water tap points inside the stadium, however, in a race of that competitive magnitude and importance, runners could not reasonably be expected to leave the pitch in search of water; ample water in water bottles should have been at hand throughout the evaluations.

It’s mind-boggling to think how tens of thousands of lives were risked when each of them could have been admitted for tests upon producing medical clearance certificates. This would contain a declaration of whether or not a person could partake in the assessments and ensure only medically fit candidates participated. Heat on its own could not have been an issue, as officers do not take the day off during hot weather unless through schedule.

The issue is how the process was managed.

Then KZN Premier Dr Zweli Mkhize instituted a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the circumstances that could have led to the collapses and subsequent deaths of the KZN Road Traffic Inspectorate recruits. Dr Mkhize appointed Thandi Norman SC as head of the Commission.

Almost a year after Norman handed over the report to the KZN Provincial Government, however, the findings remain a mystery. [Does this remind you of any other report? – Ed.] Norman said the report was no longer in her possession.

“The report was handed over to the KZN Premier on 1 July 2014. I believe there is a committee that has been appointed to deal with the implementation of the recommendations in the report.”

Norman added that the Commission’s mandate had been terminated upon completion of the report. She said to her knowledge, another Commission had been appointed to implement the findings contained in her report. The Premier’s spokesperson, Thami Ngwenya, proved elusive for days.

Demands for the release of the all-important Marikana Commission Report have overshadowed the equally important release of the Norman Commission report. Families and relatives of aspiring officers who died have waited patiently for almost three years, while clarity and explanations for the delay – or when the report will be released – have not been forthcoming. The report itself, meanwhile, languishes at the KZN Premier’s office, or in a trash bin somewhere. Nobody knows. DM