Abstract
This paper begins by discussing the ways in which patronage inhibits housing solutions for low-income groups and the conditions under which it has greatest scope for operating. There follows a discussion of what factors diminish the power of patronage within the context of a government-run site and service programme in Hyderabad (Pakistan). Here, reducing scarcity (in this case affordable land sites) and the distance between people and government were important in reducing (although not removing) the role of patrons. The paper ends with some suggestions as to how the role of patrons can be reduced in government projects - and how low-income households' direct access to land and basic services without the involvement of a patron are among the best forms of “participation”.
“If you live in the river, it is better to stay friends with the crocodile” (Pakistani proverb).