ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on community participation in urban planning and development. It discusses the problems that the planning approach has created, also whether participation is a myth, and examines prospects for a future democratic planning process in Swaziland. The person who makes the decisions at the planning office must be a professional and also be capable of passing judgements on recommendations of both the planning staff and consultants. In Swaziland the urban community is hard to define since often urban areas spill on to Swazi Nation Land which is not under the jurisdiction of local authorities. The operations of the tinkhundla system should be people-centred, with all processes beginning from the people at grassroots level. The local government has a major role to play in the urbanization process and is the key executing agency under the urban infrastructure project. Town councils are subordinate to city councils and they report to the city clerk who is the chief executive officer.
