A Brief History of Urban Development and Upgrading in Swaziland

This history illustrates a number of
themes encountered in Swaziland that faces developing
countries and their external partners in Africa and beyond.
Firstly, the history relates the experience of a small and
comparatively insular country in addressing complex
challenges deriving from rapid urbanization and, as a
result, the growing need to adapt governance systems and
structures. A second key issue is the challenge that small
nations like Swaziland face in attracting assistance. In the
absence of significant lending programs, institutions like
IBRD have limited resources available for advisory services,
particularly given the ineligibility of middle income
countries for most trust funds available in Africa. The
third theme that emerges is the centrality of land. Access
to land in Swaziland is a cross-cutting issue that
influences outcomes in many sectors. A fourth important
theme relates to the 'generational shift' which is
a necessary concomitant of any serious decentralization
process. Finally, the history demonstrates that despite all
the challenges faced, Swaziland is persisting with its
interdependent governance and urbanization reform agendas.
Although Swaziland's long-term governance and urban
development strategy was not formally defined in a donor
approved format, all the elements of a sound
intergovernmental reform and decentralization process can be
seen, retrospectively, to be in place. This long-term
strategy, which is similar to those being implemented by a
growing number of governments in the sub-Saharan region,
should guide partner support for the required generational shifts.