BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – Senate President Lindiwe Dlamini has announced that the Parliamentary Service Board (PSB) is supposed to be elected.
The elections are expected to take place on March 13, 2024. Dlamini made this announcement when Senators had a sitting yesterday morning. Dlamini read a notice from the Motshane Member of Parliament (MP) Wilton Nkambule, who is the Chairperson of the Joint House Committee. Nkambule issued the notice in terms of Section 4 of the Parliamentary Service Act of 2015.
The Senate President also informed the Senate about the importance of the PSB, which consists of seven members, according to the Act. Before talking about the importance of the board, she started with its composition. Dlamini said the PSB consisted of the Senate President and the House of Assembly Speaker.
She said the presiding officers, according to the Act, would be chairpersons of the board, on rotational basis. “If this year, the chairperson is the Senate President, next year, the House of Assembly Speaker will be the House of Assembly Speaker,” Dlamini said.
Dlamini further informed her fellow Senators that according to the Act, Clerk to Parliament would be the ex-officio member of the board. Two legislators from each chamber would also form part of the PSB and they would assume their positions after having been elected by their respective chambers.
The Senate President said the sixth member of the PSB would be coming from outside Parliament, following processes of elections from each chamber. “The House of Assembly will elect a member from outside and the Senate will do likewise. The two members (elected by each chamber) will contest for the one seat within the board through the elections by a Joint House,” Dlamini clarified.
Dlamini narrated that the seventh member of the PSB would be appointed by His Majesty the King to complete the board. Dlamini then delved into the importance of the board. She said it was responsible for ensuring the welfare of staff members of Parliament, as well as the smooth operations of the Legislature.
Before the Senate adjourned, Minister for Finance Neal Rijkenberg tabled Budget Estimates for the financial years from April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2027. He also tabled the Treasury Annual Report for the year ended March 31, 2023. Minister for Natural Resources and Energy Prince Lonkhokhela also tabled the Eswatini Electricity Company Integrated Annual Report for 2023. By the time the expected elections take place, both chambers would have conducted the necessary elections before the ones to take place during the Joint Sitting.
