SENATE SHOULD NOT INTERFERE WITH ASSEMBLY – EX-SENATORS

MBABANE – Some ex-politicians are of the view that senators should not interfere with what happens in the House of Assembly.

This follows utterances made in particular by Senator Moi Moi Masilela, who stated that Members of Parliament (MPs) were playing political games and did not behave as if they were in a country, but instead in a drinking hall. However, some former politicians have stated that the senators should stick to their mandate. One of the former politicians, who spoke on the role of the senators, was former Senator Mbho Shongwe. Shongwe said Parliament was formed by the two upper and lower Houses.

He said the upper House was one of the two chambers which was occupied by the senators and was usually smaller and often had more restricted power than the lower house. He said the chambers were not supposed to interfere with the others businesses, especially on issues dealing with the appropriation Bill as they had no power over the budget when compared to the House of Assembly. “Instead if they have any issues which they wish to raise, they can do so through a motion in their chamber and these are issues which they believe greatly affect the operations of the country,” said Shongwe. He said senators represented mainly what was national policy to ensure that the Executive arm of government did things which would benefit the entire nation. Shongwe said in the House of Assembly, the MPs normally had their own views as they were people chosen at tinkhundla level where they could come with very diverse ideas.

“Whatever senators do, they must implement it through their own motions and not engage in the other House business,” he said. He stated that the only time that the two chambers should interact must be during a joint sitting, which normally occurred if the chambers disagreed on the Bill. He said statements made by Hosea MP Mduduzi ‘Bacede’ Mabuza about the changing of the system were correct in that Parliament had the power to amend the Constitution just like it was done in 1973 when King Sobhuza II issued a decree which eventually introduced the Tinkhundla System of Governance.

Anonymity

Another former senator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the current Senate had been offside to discuss the operations of the House of Assembly. “They have no business talking about what MPs are doing in their line of duty and if they have concerns, they should privately raise them with their presiding officer,” said the former legislator.

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