The Senate of kingdom of Eswatini

The Senate of kingdom of Eswatini

Current President:

Mrs. lindiwe Dlamini

The Eswatini Senate has a total of 30 members – 19 males and 11 females.

The process of entry into the chamber is by Appointment. 10 members are appointed by the House of Assembly while 20 are appointed by the King. The House of Assembly constitutes itself into an electoral college for this purpose. The duration of the members’ mandate is 5 years.

A member can be removed before the end of the tenure by the King in Council if convicted for an offence with a sentence not less than six months imprisonment. The chamber is convened by messages passed through the radio, telephone and by the Presiding Officers.

The chamber can be dissolved according to Order No 1 of 1992 and by the King in Council (SNC). The Senate and the lower chamber complement each other. The Senate sits for at least 7 months in one year.

Principal Officers

The Presiding Officer is called the President of the Senate. He has five years mandate as the Presiding Officer.

He is appointed/elected into the House at the same time with others, before being elected as the President.

Functions of the Presiding Officer

He is an overall arbiter in the chamber which entails maintenance of order during debates.
He draws the Agenda of the Senate’s business.
He calls and selects Speakers on the floor of the chamber.

The President of the Senate is the Principal and head of the legislature. He must obtain the highest number of votes cast in the chamber among three contestants for his election.

He can be removed from office before the end of his tenure by the members of the chamber if a vote of no confidence is passed on him or if he is convicted for an offence exceeding an imprisonment term of 6 months.

In the event of his removal, he retains his seat in the Chamber.

Other Principal Officers are:

Deputy President
Chairpersons of sessional and ad hoc committees.

The other Principal Officers can also be removed from office before the end of the tenure by the King or if convicted for an offence exceeding an imprisonment term of 6 months.

Functions of other Principal Officers

The Deputy President acts as the President in his absence.
The Chairpersons of sessional / ad-hoc committees.

(a) Convene committee meetings.

(b) Maintain law and order in the committee meetings.

These other Principal Officers are elected by the Senators.

Committee System

The Eswatini Senate operates a committee system and each committee is made up of 7 members. The President of the Senate belongs to a committee. The welfare committee caters for the welfare of the Senators.

Committee Structure

Chairperson and his/her Vice.
Committee members.
Clerkship – Senate Clerk or any Clerk who may be so delegated by the Clerk of the Senate.

The committees are classified into:

(a) Standing Orders Committee

(b) Welfare

(d) Sessional Committee

Sessional committees have 1 year tenure while ad-hoc committees end with their assignments.

The Chairmen of the committees are appointed by the Senators. A committee Chair convenes meetings, maintains order and presents report to the chamber. Swaziland is a non-party state.

Functions of the Chamber

The Senate has oversight functions with regard to other arms of government and these functions are performed by the government assurances committee.

It also ratifies and domesticates international conventions.

It also sits as a court.

There are standing rules that guide the business of the chamber. Legislations also exist which specify the relationship between the chamber and the other arms of government. It can also amend/suspend its rules and can discipline erring members.

A Senator cannot be arrested in the premises of Parliament. Recruitment matters are handled by the Ministry of Public Service which houses the Civil Service Board. The Senate does not control its own budget. The Ministry of Finance through the Treasury Department does.

Structure of the Senate