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The central government continues to play a dominant role in the management of African cities. Governance, which is considered a more pluralistic management method, was introduced as a prerequisite by donors in southern African countries in order to tackle the issue of centralization. As in every African country, governance is now an integral part of every reform of city government models in Gabon, and in particular, those that focus on the provision of basic services. Although the principle of governance has strong support in political and media circles, it is not clear that it has been successful in reducing the involvement of the central government. An analysis of the interactions between the various stakeholders involved in the provision of Libreville’s waste management services underlines one major area of change, namely the increasing role played by private partners in the delivery of public policy goals. Moreover, it highlights how national authorities continue to hinder the true decentralization of power to municipal authorities and the process of ensuring that civil society is more closely involved in the decision-making process. This paper shows that for all the talk of decentralization and governance, central government remains the dominant player in city management.