Mr. Thulani Mkhaliphi has served local government in Swaziland for more than 18 years. He is the Director of Decentralization for the Swazi government’s Ministry of Tinkhundla in Mbabane, where he provides policy development support and handles issues of governance at a local level, particularly as it relates to Swaziland’s traditional form of government led by local chiefs. He regularly interacts with traditional authorities, urban local authorities, members of parliament, government Ministers and Swazi citizens to lead the process of decentralizing government in his country. He earned a master degree in public and development management from the University of Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa) and a bachelor degree in public administration from the University of Swaziland (Manzini). During his fellowship year Mr. Mkhaliphi will focus on local governance, policy development and implementation, and citizen participation.