MP PHA MADE SPEAKER FOR 15 MIN

LOBAMBA - Mangcongco MP Patrick Pha Motsa yesterday had his 15 minutes of fame as he was elected Speaker in the House of Assembly.

This was after confusion reigned in the House as no one had any idea where both the Speaker Themba Msibi and his deputy, Mbabane East MP Esther Dlamini, were.
The duo was nowhere to be found although the MPs had been called to a sitting.  The MPs were already in the House at the stipulated starting time of 2:30pm, but the clock kept ticking until 3:05pm when Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo said something had to give.

MP Khumalo said the law stated that they could choose a Speaker if none of the presiding officers were available. He said the Standing Orders allowed them to do so and advised that this should take place.
At this stage, the MPs said the Clerk at Table should walk in and at least tell them what had happened, particularly since the day’s Order Paper had been printed.  The Clerk at Table Ray Mkhonta then told the legislators that he had last seen the Speaker Msibi at noon.

“I must say that I saw the Speaker at noon and from what I could tell, he was not really feeling well (uphatsekile),” said Mkhonta.
He said from then they had been trying to locate the deputy speaker but to no avail. At this point, the Attorney General, Sifiso Khumalo, had already walked into the House and said Section 104 of the Constitution of Swaziland (subsection 2) gave the MPs powers to elect a temporary Speaker.

At this point, Lobamba Lomdzala MP Khumalo asked to nominate Motsa and he was supported by his colleagues. MP Motsa then walked over from his seat at the back of the House and took the day’s Standing Orders and said the normal opening prayer. After the prayer, Motsa then said he had no announcements at his desk and no one had come with a motion of privilege (Standing Order No 58) which MPs usually use to debate current issues.
After Motsa’s remarks, appointed MP Thuli Dladla immediately stood up and told the Speaker of the day that the MPs did not form the required 30 attendance quorum as there were only 28 present in the House. The acting Speaker then said MPs should break for five minutes as was the norm when their numbers did not add up and return to the House later.

Motsa then walked back to his seat, but was told that he should use the exit door which the Speaker ordinarily uses.

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