Technical glitches delay Marikana commission

The Marikana Commission of Inquiry faces an uncertain future as a result of technical glitches experienced at the Rustenburg Civic Centre which is hosting its proceedings.

On Wednesday the commission was forced to adjourn early following a power failure. This happened while there was no water supply, which affected the ablution facilities.

The power failure was reportedly as a result of an explosion at a substation the night before.

Today, Farlam released a statement saying as a direct consequence of the explosion water is not sufficiently pumped into the resevoirs due to the unavailability of electricity, which is the cause of the poor water supply.

He said the municipality has agreed to supply water tanks and mobile toilets to alleviate the problem.

Farlam said a decision would be taken on Monday to determine if the problem has been fully resolved or if the commission would have to be postponed or moved elsewhere.

Last year, the commission was forced to stop proceedings early because of a problem with the air-conditioning system.

The commission was also forced to postpone proceedings a number of times because of the unavailability of the venue, which is run by the municipality and is booked for various events by members of the public.