Parly reforms
tions for people with the ambition to be legislators.
It is also provided in the /esotho &onstitution that a person shall be qualified to be nominated as a sen ator if he is a citi]en of /esotho, able to speaN and, unless incapac itated or other physical cause, to read and write either the Sesotho or (nglish languages well enough to taNe an active part in the pro ceedings of the Senate.
A person qualified to be elected as a member of the national as sembly if he is a citi]en of /eso tho, registered in some constitu ency as an elector in elections to respond to the impact and threats posed by &29I' as illustrated by the senator, included the issuance of a directive by the 0inistry of (d ucation and 7raining, that pregnant girls should be allowed to write their e[aminations without discrimina tion.
³As I speaN a si]eable number of our girls who wrote their e[ams while pregnant, are on their ne[t grade and they are doing well,´ the senator said to a round of applause by her colleagues from across Af rica. the 1ational Assembly, and is not disqualified from voting in such elections.
+e shall be able to speaN and, un less incapacitated by blindness or other physical cause, to read and write either the Sesotho or (nglish language well enough to taNe an active part in the proceedings of the national assembly.
In the case members of political parties that might want to have representatives at PAP they would have to go there via 7inNhundla System of *overnment.
7his is due to the fact that the Protocol observes laws and con stitutions governing national Par liaments.
According to the protocol, mem bership of the PAP shall not be compatible with the e[ercise of e[ecutive or judicial functions in a State Party or a permanent office in the A8, a regional economic community or other international organisation.
8ntil a code is developed for
She said government also issued a directive to the effect that head teachers should not e[pel students for failing to pay school fees.
7his point was also hailed by Africa and it is, perhaps, one of reasons me dia houses waited outside the confer ence hall to get an interview with the (swatini senator.
³In that regard, government is worNing around the clocN in trying to find ways of encouraging parents to pay school fees for their Nids,´ she e[plained.
Another government intervention election to the PAP by direct uni versal suffrage, the document states that procedure for the elec tion shall be determined by the 1ational Parliament or other de liberative body of each member State.
It is provided in the document that the institution of a member State which determines disputes about elections to the national as sembly or other deliberative body shall be responsible for determin ing any question that may arise, as to whether a person has been duly elected a member of the PAP or whether a vacancy has occurred in the representation at PAP of a member State.
In (swatini, the +igh &ourt has the power to deliberate on election disputes.
VACANCY
:here the institution, for in stance, the +igh &ourt of (s watini, decides that a vacancy has occurred, it is proposed that a by election shall be conducted to elect another person to fill the vacancy.
Article states that until the Assembly decides otherwise, each State party shall be represented in the Pan African Parliament by an equal number of parliamentarians.
7he membership of the PAP shall comprise of five members, elected by each State Party.
7he current format states that, at least one of the elected members should be a woman.
It has been proposed that any delegation which does not satisfy this requirement shall not have the right to be accredited for rep resentation in the Parliament.
7he term of a member of the PAP shall be five years and he or she shall be eligible for re election for one further term only.
It is provided that the term of a member of the PAP shall com mence from the date on which he or she is sworn into office and shall end on the last day of the term of the Parliament.
7he seat of a 0ember of the PAP shall become vacant if the holder dies, ceases to satisfy the eligibil ity criteria stipulated in this Pro tocol for members of the PAP is unable to perform his or her func tions because of physical or men tal incapacity.
7he seat shall be vacant if he or she does the following ±
5esigns in writing to the presi dent
Is removed on grounds of mis conduct by the Pan African Par liament in accordance with its 5ules of Procedure
Is absent from the Pan African Parliament meetings for such period and in such circum stances as are prescribed by the 5ules of
Procedure of
Parliament
Is convicted by a court of com petent jurisdiction of an offence involving fraud, dishonesty or moral integrity and sentenced to a term of imprisonment e[ ceeding si[ months
5epresents a State Party which is suspended from participating in the activities of the A8 :hen his or her term e[pires
5emoval on the grounds stip ulated in paragraph c or e above shall be by a resolution on a motion to be decided on by secret ballot and supported at the end of a debate by two thirds majority of all the members of the PAP.
In the case of a removal on the grounds stipulated, the motion shall, in addition, be supported by a medical report in accord ance with rules provided for in the 5ules of Procedure.
7he SA'& communication de partment had not responded at the time this report was compiled yes terday.
7huli 'ladla, the 0inister of Foreign Affairs and International &ooperation, said she would li aise with her legal team to find out what might have caused the coun try not to ratify the Protocol, along side other members of SA'&.
µµ The proposed protocol that the qualifications for election to the Pan African Parliament shall be the same as for a national Parliament or other deliberative body.
the legislator mentioned, which re ceived tremendous appreciation is the introduction of online learning to counter the impromptu closure of schools caused by the outbreaN of the virus.
5egardless of the good intention to introduce online learning, she al luded to the fact that this initiative did not bear the desired results, as some children came from impover ished families and did not have those radios and television sets.
She also informed PAP and staNe holders that the Parliament of the .ingdom of (swatini had recently passed regulations on adoption, a move that seeNs to protect the girl child since they are more vulnerable to unforeseen circumstances during the adoption process.
She e[plained that the primary objective of these regulations was simply to regulate child adoption in accordance with the principal legis lation, the &hild Protection and &hil dren :elfare Act of .
Senator 0thethwa is a member of the &ommittee on +ealth, /abour and Social Affairs at the Pan African Parliament.
'uring the session, she represented the committee¶s chairperson.
(swatini¶s representatives at PAP are Senator Sylvia 0thethwa, Sena tor 7ony Siband]e, 0P 5obert 0a gongo, 0P 9ictor 0alambe and 0P 7hnadi 1[umalo.
Also forming part of the country team currently in 0idrand is &elu the
Pan African
musa .ho]a, the &lerN to (swatini branch of PAP.
7he Pan African Parliament was set up to ensure the full participa tion of African people in the eco nomic development and integration of the continent.
It is intended to be platform for people from all African States to be involved in discussions and decision maNing on the problems and chal lenges facing the continent.
7he Parliament sits in 0idrand, South Africa. 5ather than being elected directly by the people, PAP members are designated by the leg islatures of their member States and members of their domestic legisla tures.
POWERS
In its profile, PAP says its ultimate aim is to be an institution with full legislative powers, whose members are elected by universal suffrage. 8ntil such time, the PAP has con sultative, advisory and budgetary oversight powers within the African 8nion A8 .
It must be said that the A8 Assem bly adopted the Protocol to the &on stitutive Act of the A8 5elating to the PAP during its -une Summit.
As of September , , 0ember States had signed the Protocol and five had deposited their instruments of ratification.
7he objectives and functions of the Parliament are set out in the Protocol to the Abuja 7reaty relating to the PAP.