Tech gremlins add another delay to farcical Tshwane council meeting

27 September 2016 - 21:04 By Penwell Dlamini

Almost eight hours after the Tshwane council meeting was supposed to start‚ not a single item on the agenda had been processed. After a number of false starts‚ including a fracas during which African National Congress councillors threw plastic water bottles at security personnel and tussled with metro police‚ order was partly restored and speaker of council Rachel Mathebe ascended to her chair to proceed with the business of the day.Unfortunately‚ the communication system used in chambers was not working. Proceedings were paused - again - to allow technicians to find a solution to the problem. About 40 minutes later‚ the problem was still not solved.The leadership of the various parties were seen having discussions in an attempt find common ground on what should happen next.A few minutes later‚ the speaker descended from her chair to use one of the ordinary councillor chairs to speak as they were working.Council resumed and about 6.30pm‚ and with councillors still struggling to wade through the applications for leave of absence‚ it promised to be a long night. ..

There’s never been a more important time to support independent media.

From World War 1 to present-day cosmopolitan South Africa and beyond, the Sunday Times has been a pillar in covering the stories that matter to you.

For just R80 you can become a premium member (digital access) and support a publication that has played an important political and social role in South Africa for over a century of Sundays. You can cancel anytime.

Already subscribed? Sign in below.



Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@timeslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.