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Sticking around or fading away: water patronage and value in Chad

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 May 2024

Ismaël Maazaz
Ismaël Maazaz*
Affiliation:
Institute for Advanced Study, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland
*
Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article explores trajectories in the politics of water patronage in N’Djamena, Chad. Water appears as a malleable and elusive commodity, at once ubiquitous and somewhat overlooked. Drawing on ethnographic field research in peripheral N’Djamena, I argue that relational distance is skilfully handled by water patrons for monetary rewards and influence. Such handling swings the making of water value in contradictory directions unaccounted for in much of the existing literature on water patronage. Present or absent, hidden or on display, funders or profit makers, patrons may leverage water supply through material, symbolic or entrepreneurial labour that places them in conflicting spaces. Ultimately, these leveraging processes based on the manipulation of relational distance create a multifaceted water valuation. The various positionalities of the water patrons and their use of relational distance point to the existence of multiple water values, rather than a single one. Therefore, I argue that water may have either a ‘distant value’ or an ‘anchored value’, depending on the relational distance strategy implemented by the patron who provides it.

Résumé

Résumé

Cet article explore différentes trajectoires de patronage dans le domaine de l’eau à N’Djaména, au Tchad. L’eau apparaît comme une marchandise malléable et insaisissable, à la fois omniprésente et négligée. En m’appuyant sur des travaux de terrain ethnographiques dans les quartiers périphériques de N’Djaména, je soutiens que les patrons manient habilement la distance relationnelle en vue d’obtenir des bénéfices monétaires ou en terme d’influence locale. Ce maniement engage la production de la valeur de l’eau dans des directions contradictoires, et qui sont passées sous silence dans une grande partie de la littérature actuelle sur les logiques de patronage. Présents ou absents, discrets ou triomphants, débiteurs ou créditeurs, les patrons sont susceptibles de tirer profit de l’adduction en eau à travers un travail symbolique, matériel et entrepreneurial qui les place dans des espaces contestés. En dernière analyse, ces processus de rentabilisation fondés sur la manipulation de la distance relationnelle produisent une valorisation de l’eau aux multiples facettes. Les nombreux positionnements occupés par les patrons de l’eau et leur usage de la distance relationnelle indiquent l’existence de plusieurs types de ‘valeurs hydrauliques’ plutôt qu’une seule. Ainsi, je distingue la ‘valeur distante’ de la ‘valeur ancrée’ que l’eau est susceptible d’avoir en fonction des stratégies de distanciation mises en œuvre par les patrons qui se chargent de son adduction.

Resumo

Resumo

Este artigo explora as trajectórias da política de patrocínio da água em N’Djamena, no Chade. A água surge como um bem maleável e esquivo, simultaneamente omnipresente e algo negligenciado. Com base numa investigação de campo etnográfica na periferia de N’Djamena, defendo que a distância relacional é habilmente manipulada pelos patronos da água para obterem recompensas monetárias e influência. Essa manipulação faz oscilar a criação de valor da água em direcções contraditórias que não são tidas em conta em grande parte da literatura existente sobre o patrocínio da água. Presentes ou ausentes, ocultos ou à vista, financiadores ou geradores de lucros, os patronos podem alavancar o abastecimento de água através de trabalho material, simbólico ou empresarial que os coloca em espaços contraditórios. Em última análise, estes processos de aproveitamento baseados na manipulação da distância relacional criam uma valorização multifacetada da água. As várias posições dos patronos da água e a sua utilização da distância relacional apontam para a existência de múltiplos valores da água, em vez de um único. Por conseguinte, defendo que a água pode ter um ‘valor distante’ ou um ‘valor ancorado’, dependendo da estratégia de distância relacional implementada pelo patrono que a fornece.

Type
Water, irrigation and land
Information
Africa , Volume 94 , Issue 2 , May 2024 , pp. 231 - 250
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the International African Institute

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