Swaziland delegates observe local government structures in Commonwealth neighbours

A delegation from Swaziland visited Botswana, Malawi and Mozambique last month to observe elected and traditional local government structures, and study the approaches and strategies for decentralisation reforms.

The lessons learned from the visits, organised by the Governance and Institutional Development Division (GIDD) of the Commonwealth Secretariat, will feed into a draft local government act, currently under process in Swaziland.

The delegation was led by Prince Gcokoma Dlamini, Minister of Tinkhundla Administration and Development. Tinkhundla is part of Swaziland’s system of local government - it is an administrative unit.

He said: “Swaziland is strengthening Tinkhundla through a decentralisation programme, so they can be an engine of good governance, development and service delivery. Chiefs are still regarded as central to socio-economic organisation in Swaziland. We, therefore, want to take on board international and regional best practices in developing our local government system.”

Max Everest-Phillips, Director of GIDD, stated: “The Secretariat has been assisting Swaziland with the implementation of a decentralisation policy as part of the country’s National Development Strategy – Swaziland’s 25-year vision for social and economic development.”

Dr Munawwar Alam, Adviser on Sub-national Administration and Government with GIDD, said the visits enabled senior Swazi policy-makers to explore the role of elected local governments in adjoining Commonwealth countries.

The delegates were also able to identify effective models for central and local government interaction, and the co-existence of traditional and elected local government structures.

The visits were attended by the Swaziland Minister of Housing and Urban Development, senators, chairpersons of parliamentary committees, parliamentarians, and senior officials of the Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration.