Times Of Swaziland: 3 MPS QUESTION PM CLEOPAS’S APPOINTMENT AS MP

3 MPS QUESTION PM CLEOPAS’S APPOINTMENT AS MP
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BY SIBONGILE SUKATI AND STANLEY KHUMALO on 19/07/2021 08:47:00


MANZINI – “How can he be a Member of Parliament (MP) when he has not been
sworn in?”
This was the reaction of the MPs calling for political reforms, who stated that
they were shocked to learn that appointed Prime Minister Cleopas Sipho Dlamini
became an MP last Thursday. Hosea Constituency MP Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza wondered
how the newly-appointed prime minister (PM) was an MP without being sworn in
first. He said in his understanding, any politician elected or appointed to the
august House was an MP-elect until sworn in. “We’ve been called in today for
the swearing in of an MP, maybe it is him,” Mabuza said. On the other hand,
Siphofaneni Constituency MP Mduduzi ‘Gawuzela’ Simelane rhetorically asked
what the procedures were before requesting not to comment any further. Ngwempisi
Constituency MP Mthandeni Dube said he would consult extensively on this as his
understanding of the Constitution was different from what was unfolding. “The
PM was made an MP on Thursday? This is news to me,” Dube said. Worth noting is
that Dlamini was announced as the country’s PM last Friday following that the
Deputy Prime Minister, Themba Masuku, had been acting in this office since the
demise of Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini in December 2020.
Confirmed
Attorney General Sifiso Khumalo confirmed that the new Prime Minister, Cleopas
Dlamini, was appointed an MP last week Thursday. He said as a result, by the
time that the King announced Dlamini as PM at Sibaya on Friday, he was already a
member of the House of Assembly. Khumalo yesterday then produced Legal Notice
No.207 of 2021 which states that in exercise of powers vested in the King under
Section 95 and 98 of the Constitution, the King and Ingwenyama was making the
notice. The notice may be cited as the appointment of a member of the House of
Assembly and was deemed to have come into force on July 15, 2021. Khumalo’s
reaction follows that eyebrows were raised when Dlamini was appointed on Friday
at Sibaya yet he was known to be a member of Senate, which was in breach of
Section 67 (1) of the Constitution.
The clause states that the King shall appoint the prime minister from among
members of the House acting on recommendation of the King’s Advisory Council. 
Informed about the latest developments, Human Rights Lawyer Sipho Gumedze said
at least the government was trying to be compliant with the Constitution. He,
however, said if it was true that the new PM was appointed a member of the
House, then he should have been sworn in as an MP on Thursday. He said if
Thursday had not been possible, Dlamini could have been sworn in on Friday
morning before the announcement was made by the King on Friday afternoon. He
said for a member of the House to be sworn in, it did not mean that the whole
House had to be present. “The Speaker and the AG could have made an
arrangement for Dlamini to take the oath of being an MP on Friday in order to
fulfil the whole process and make it constitutional,” said Gumedze.