BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – African Lawmakers were treated to an eye-candy Eswatini traditional dress code at Midrand, South Africa, when Eswatini Legislators took an oath at the Pan African Parliament (PAP) sitting today.
The Legislators included Sigwe Member of Parliament (MP) David Cruiser Ngcamphalala, Mtsambama MP Sibongile Mamba, Senator Tony Sibandze, Senator Stukie Motsa, and Mbabane East MP Welcome Dlamini. These Legislators were last year elected by both the House of Assembly and Senate to represent the country at the continental Legislature.
Clad in their same red imihelwane (kangas) and other traditional materials, depending on their gender, the Legislators solemnly swore to diligently and with integrity, as they participated in the continental Parliament, trying to eradicate the problems faced by Africans, while at the same time, showcasing what Emaswati were all about.
The Lawmakers will be part of their fellow African Lawmakers from other African countries, who also represent their respective African countries in the PAP. The Eswatini Legislators took an oath because they would be sitting for the first time, following that they were only sworn in as MPs and Senators late last year.
One of the rules of the PAP states that a Legislator can only become a member of the PAP after being elected in their home country. Likewise, a Lawmaker stops being a PAP member after his or her term of office as a Legislator back home had stopped.
For instance, in 2018, the 11th Parliament elected MPs Robert Magongo (Motshane), Victor Malambe (Mhlume), Thandi Nxumalo (Manzini South), Senator Mike Temple, and Senator Sylvia Mthethwa to represent Eswatini at the African Parliament. The Legislators stopped being members of the PAP after their term of office as Eswatini Legislators came to an end last year.
Unfortunately, Senator Mike Temple could not finish the term as a PAP member, as he succumbed to death in July 2019. He was replaced by Senator Sibandze, who has now returned to PAP as an experienced member, helping his fellow colleagues on how things are done in the African august House. He is the Head of Delegation for the Eswatini Lawmakers.
Temple led his colleagues as an experienced PAP member when he was elected in 2018 to the African Legislature by the 11th Parliament. During the 10th Parliament (in 2013), he had been elected to represent PAP together with Senator Khanyisile Malambe, MPs Princess Ncengencenge (as she was then), Phesheya Hlatshwayo (Motshane), and Bongani Mdluli (Madlangemphisi).
According to information from the African Union (AU) website, the African Legislature was set up to ensure the full participation of African people in the economic development and integration of the continent. The PAP is intended as a platform for people from all African states to be involved in discussions and decision making on the problems and challenges facing the continent. The Parliament sits in Midrand, South Africa.
Rather than being elected directly by the people, PAP members are designated by the legislatures of their Member State and members of their domestic legislatures. The ultimate aim is for the Parliament to be an institution with full legislative powers, whose members are elected by universal suffrage. Until such time, the PAP has consultative, advisory and budgetary oversight powers within the AU.
According to Wikipedia, the PAP was set up in 2004, with its inaugural sitting held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It later moved to Midrand, South Africa. The PAP members usually hold presidential elections every after three years. Another presidential election is supposed to be held this year, where incumbent PAP President, Fortune Charumbira (from Zimbabwe), is expected to contest.
