The ''Ntlo ya Dikgosi'' (
Tswana for "House of Chiefs") in
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...
is an advisory body to
the country's parliament.
[Botswana]
CIA World Handbook
Composition
The house consists of 35 members. Eight members are
hereditary chiefs (''kgosi'') from Botswana's principal tribes (BaKgatla, BaKwêna,
BaMalete The Balete people are a Southern African ethnic group.
In Botswana they have occupied a permanent territory since around 1780, officially recognized as a tribal reserve in 1909.
They are the only one of eight major tribes that do not belong to the ...
,
BamaNgwato The Bamangwato (more correctly BagammaNgwato, and also referred to as the BaNgwato or Ngwato) is one of the eight "principal" Tswana chieftaincies of Botswana. They ruled over a majority Bakalanga population (the largest ethnic group in Central Dis ...
,
BaNgwaketse
The Bangwaketse (also known as the BaNgwaketse, or Ngwaketse) are one of the eight principal tribes in Botswana, and are ethnic Tswana. (The "Ba" or "Bo" prefix in African tribal names in southern Africa means "people of" or "people who speak" ...
,
BaRôlông,
BaTawana, and
BaTlôkwa). 20 members are indirectly elected and serve five-year terms. Two are chosen from the
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
of
North-East
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
and
Chobe. The remaining 5 members are appointed by the country's president. They must be at least 21 years of age, proficient in the
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...
, and have not participated in active politics in the past five years. Chiefs may not belong to
political parties
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
.
Powers
The house acts as a purely advisory body to the Parliament and has no legislative nor
veto
A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...
power.
All bills affecting tribal organization and property, customary law, and the administration of customary courts go through the house before being discussed in the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
. Members must also be consulted when the constitution is being reviewed or amended.
The body has the power to summon members of government to appear before it.
[Werner Zips & Markus Weilenmann (2011) ''The Governance of Legal Pluralism: Empirical Studies from Africa and Beyond'', LIT Verlag Münster, p188]
See also
*
National Assembly of Botswana
The National Assembly is the legislative body of Botswana's national government. With the President, the National Assembly forms Botswana's unicameral Parliament. It is advised by the Ntlo ya Dikgosi: a council of chiefs which is not a house of P ...
*
History of Botswana
The Batswana, a term also used to denote all citizens of Botswana, refers to the country's major ethnic group (called the Tswana in Southern Africa). Prior to European contact, the Batswana lived as herders and farmers under tribal rule.
Be ...
*''
Kgosi
A (; ) is the title for a hereditary leader of a Batswana tribe.
Usage
The word "kgosi" is a Setswana term for "king" or "chief". Various affixes can be added to the word to change its meaning: adding the prefix ''di-'' creates the plural form ...
''
*
List of Chairpersons of the ''Ntlo ya Dikgosi''
*
Senate of Lesotho
The Senate of Lesotho () is the upper chamber of the Parliament of Lesotho, which, along with the National Assembly of Lesotho (the lower chamber), comprises the legislature of Lesotho.
Bicameralism in Lesotho is specifically modeled after the ...
*
National House of Traditional Leaders
The National House of Traditional Leaders is a body of 23 traditional leaders in South Africa, representing the eight provincial Houses of Traditional Leaders. Until 1998 it was called the National Council of Traditional Leaders.
Its role includes ...
of South Africa
*
Council of Traditional Leaders of Namibia
References
{{Authority control
1961 establishments in Bechuanaland Protectorate
Government of Botswana