Patronage en strategie

Samenvatting

The patron-client relations in Itumba, a village in Tanzania, lie somewhere between normal transactions and highly-developed patronage systems. The patron does not control the client to the extent that he can always force him to follow his bidding. Itumba has about 1,000 inhabitants, most of whom are farmers. There is a tremendous difference in fertility between the land close to the rivers, and the arid land higher up. The better land by the river is in the hands of a minority of farmers, although everyone has enough land to cover his subsistence needs. Of the 12 farmers who have enough riverland to consider lending it out for patronage, only 7 do so; the others abstain due to fear that the land will not be given back. Those who do lend the land out enjoy a certain amount of power and prestige, and have less difficulty when they need labor or have to appear in court. The nonfarmers of the village are all government employees. There are also some patronage relationships among them and between them and the larger farmers. In these relationships the patron does not generally have the power to control his client, however. The patron landowners exert some influence in the bureaucratic sector in that it is they who have the power to contact and sway the smaller farmers when this is necessary. 1 figure. P. Tiersma