The inability of municipalities to handle the increasing amount of waste generated is a growing problem in many African cities. This study attempts to address the problem of municipal solid waste management by looking the consideration of governance and community participation on waste management issues. A theoretical framework is developed employing institutional theory analysis and the theory of capacity building. Which have been used as a basis to compare the theoretical and the actual practice when analyzing waste management systems in the municipalities. However poor performances of municipal waste management systems have been realized in Arusha and Dar es Salaam contributed by poor implementation of laws and low awareness creation which further demoralizes community participation. Moreover application of an Integrated Waste Management approach has been favored as the best way to manage solid waste.