Understanding the value of stokvels for women

DR SHEETAL BHOOLA

South African women have constantly been challenged by both racial discrimination and gender prejudices in the workplace and formal economy.

In lieu of Women’s Month, we acknowledge the multiple hurdles women have overcome and challenged, as well as the ways in which they collectively assisted each other.

Many children have memories of their South African mothers, aunties and grandmothers meeting now and then with other women on a bimonthly or monthly basis.

Eventually, some of us understood that the basis of these meetings was not about sharing love and food, but instead about finances. The continual investment by South African women into stokvels indicates how this system could benefit every woman.

She may be educated, uneducated, formally employed in the corporate sector or self-employed. However, this approach has always been practical and inclusive, especially for women in rural communities in apartheid South Africa.

Through friendship and sisterhood, women have been able to create an avenue of financial security for themselves and their families.

In rural South Africa, access to banks and other facilities is scarce and not always within the locality, however, women in these rural spaces still have to bear the weight of finding appropriate spaces to safeguard large amounts of cash.

The collective saving pool has its roots in the Eastern Cape and this saving method enabled black farmers and labourers to save, gamble and purchase livestock collectively.

The migration of African males to work as miners in Johannesburg also contributed to the stokvel’s widespread engagement. These men who initially came from the Cape employed the stokvel concept in the late 1800s. There are predominantly four types of stokvel, categorised as saving, burial, investment and high budget stokvels.

Although men and women initially utilised this saving approach, it became a reliable way for many unemployed and poor black women. Many of these women employed in the informal economy have low incomes and use the stokvel to supplement their income.

The varying types of stokvels have expanded to serve multiple purposes. Research studies have also indicated that this way of saving has enabled people to embark on substantial financial projects such as house and care purchases, home renovations as well as tertiary education fees for their children.

In most cases, the group collectively devised a constitution which comprises a set of rules and regulations for all members to adhere to. These regulations have been endorsed by police officers in their areas. Members are often vetted before joining an existing stokvel. Issues of trust and transparency are also a significant concern.

Presently, this avenue of saving is still thriving. Today, the banks have designed specific banking products in South Africa that support the stokvel and its multiple members.

Banks have been competing with one another to lure the investment of stokvels. The benefits offered to each stokvel member are helpful and of value. This step has been a contributing step towards the curbing of stokvel crimes.

Earlier this year, a woman was robbed of R50 000.00 cash after a stokvel meeting concluded in Limpopo. Another fraudulent activity related to stokvels has been the ongoing pyramid schemes or fraudulent investment schemes.

This collective saving approach attracts negative and positive opinions in present socio-economic times. Crime and corruption have become normalised practices in South Africa.

Under this umbrella, stokvels have been identified as porous spaces for thieves if members are not vetted properly. In addition, transparency is defined differently theoretically and in practice.

South Africans are now influenced by a socialised dominant practice of corruption, embezzlement and fraud, which has also impacted how stokvels are managed and organised. Transparency and trust have developed new nuances in a society that has a trajectory of mistrust and corruption amidst each other.

The values of sisterhood, family and friendship are ways South Africans can rebuild trust and transparency. The stokvel saving approach has been deemed effective and can continue to serve women who are impoverished and unemployed.

Kudos to women who managed to get ahead financially through facilitating and committing to this system.

Dr Sheetal Bhoola is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Zululand, and the director at StellarMaths (Phoenix & Sunningdale).

Daily News