Ballot Kametti

According to Shirley Ardener and F. J. A. Bouman, ROSCA dates back at least to the mid twentieth century, but it is believed that this form of combined peer-to-peer banking and lending has much earlier roots. In a kametti, each individual contributes a set amount on a monthly basis. The total amount of the kametti is divided on all the members, and the length of month is equal to number of members participating in the kametti. Through a ballot, each contributor of the kametti is allotted a number for his or her turn. Each month one participant receives the total sum of the collected kametti savings. This generous saving and lending continues until each member participating in the traditional kametti has received an equal amount of cash to meet their needs and to fulfil their dreams.

For instance, Rehana is a mother of three children of modest means from Jassuana, in Pakistan’s Faisalabad District. She became a ballot kametti member in 2021. A total of twenty housewives from her village contributed 2,500 rupees ($11.31) each for twenty months to receive the pool sum of 50,000 rupees ($227) one by one. Rehana received the total amount in the second month through the ballot, and was able to buy a cow worth 35000 rupees ($158) to sell milk and dairy products in order to support the livelihood of her family. She also saved 15,000 rupees ($69) to pay for the academic essentials of her children so that they can receive schooling. Sajida Parveen, a working woman who has been a treasurer for ballot kamettis since 2000, describes it as follows: “Ballot kametti is very beneficial for people of our community in several ways. It is free of legal bindings and saves the members from strenuous paperwork, demanding contracts and interests on the loan which they might have to deal with if they go to a bank. In a developing country like ours, the underprivileged often cannot even apply for a loan to the bank because they are not eligible for it. This is where kametti comes in as a savior for most of us. There are infinite personal and professional needs of people for which they join kametti. For example, college going students join the kametti to pay their semester fees, whereas emerging entrepreneurs participate to invest the pooled amount in their dream startups. On the other hand, parents of young girls join the kametti to arrange finances for their marriages and to buy them wedding gifts. So many couples living in rented houses also take a membership in the kametti to buy themselves a piece of land to build a happy home for their family.

Upon being asked about someone whose life has been richly progressed by ballot kametti, Sajida shared: “A caretaker at my school who had suffered a terrible 3rd degree burn in her early life used to be a permanent member of my kametti. She used to take multiple membership placements in the kametti every year. Through the kametti system she was able to reconstruct a beautiful home, invest in the business her son longed for, and she also bought him a motorbike. Apart from that, I can recall one of my colleague whose husband got fired from his job two months before the birth of their child. She was very upset and concerned about how the expenses of birth would be met and how will they be able to pay for the hospital bills in the current situation. Fortunately, we were starting a ballot kametti the same month and considering her situation, all members consented to give her the first kametti. This is how kametti instils communal empathy and consideration for one another. My colleague was much relieved, by just paying a small chunk of her salary each month she was now able to support the finances for birth of her child.

Ballot kametti is a form of generosity that intertwines financial support with trust, attention, empathy and consideration to each other's needs. It not only benefits individuals but also helps holistically in community development. The ballot kametti offers an alternative to conventional loan and saving structures as a form of mutual reliance and support, while also aiding minority populations in particular, who frequently face prejudice when attempting to enter banks, and who feel empowered by kametti to achieve financial freedom and recognition.

Contributors: Shanzay Qamar, Sajida Parveen