Paper short abstract:

What is public about public goods? Who defines the 'public'? In this paper, I offer a critical debate on the idea of public goods in light of garbage collection in a city in eastern DR Congo, Bukavu. I find that public goods creates distinctions and questions everyday statehood.

Paper long abstract:

"Public good" is a source of creating distinctions between who is considered a citizen and who is not. In this paper, I argue that is essential to take a deeper immersion into perceptions of what people themselves see as "public goods" and what "public" constitutes for subjects in different positions and situations. I offer a study of the case of garbage collection in Bukavu, eastern DR Congo, from the viewpoint of the urban poor, middle class citizens and elites.