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Paper short abstract:

This contribution examines the role of professional motorcycle taxi associations in eastern DRC in transforming the profession from an stopgap activity into a ‘proper job’. It discusses strategies, their results as well as structural, economic and political challenges.

Paper long abstract:

Being a motorcycle taxi driver or ‘motard’ is a widespread form of work in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Motards are present in urban as well as rural settings and serve as linkages between both spheres. Many riders are men between 18 and 35 and originate from a precarious background although students, graduates and skilled workers are also not uncommon. Their profession is however widely perceived as a temporary stop-gap, work “in between jobs” or even a “dead end” (Oldenburg 2019). This paper examines the role of professional associations in transforming motorcycle taxi driving from an unanchored stopgap activity into a ‘proper job’ (Ferguson & Li 2018) as well as structural, economic and political challenges. Recently, motorcycle taxi associations have multiplied and spread across eastern DRC, not least due to mandatory membership policies. Existing associations however differ greatly in size, geographical extend and the services they offer. Some are limited to a role as registrars of professionals and provide only limited assistance in negotiating with police and state institutions. In contrast, other associations have developed extensive welfare and social security schemes or provide their members with professional trainings both within the motorcycle taxi sector and beyond it. Thereby, they embed their members into long-term projects that contradict the reputation of their work as temporary and aim at transforming being a motard into an economically sustainable and socially accepted profession. Furthermore, associations attempt to win political and social recognition for a group that is often described as unruly outlaws.