A key to African self-help
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Date
1966
Authors
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Publisher
Fosbrooke
Abstract
The co-operative movement is one of the keys to African self-help. It should ease the transition to modern farming, shield the “small man” against exploitation, and instil democratic habits. It offers a middle road between western capitalism and state socialism. And it fits the traditions and temperament of the average African, who is not strongly individualistic but nevertheless does not take kindly to coercion.
With all these advantages, it is not, however, a simple matter to transplant to Africa the co-opera¬tive techniques evolved in European societies. African economic and social conditions are radically different, and imported concepts need careful trial- and-error adaptation. It is here that Israel can be helpful, with its highly co-operative way of life, its pragmatic and flexible approach to development, and its harmonious relations with the new states of sub-Saharan Africa.
The modern co-operative movement started in 1844, with 24 poor weavers in the English village of Rochdale, and spread over the world. Today, it is estimated that there are some 600,000 co-operative enterprises in 120 countries, with about 250 million members. Four-fifths of these undertakings are connected with agriculture in one way or another. The next largest group comprises the consumers’ societies, mostly urban. Other types of co-operatives are thrift societies, credit institutions, transport companies, and joint undertakings in fishing, forestry and small industry. Whatever their type or size, cooperatives have common basic features. They are legally incorporated associations of persons, usually of limited means, who have voluntarily joined to¬gether for a common economic end. The under¬taking is democratically controlled by its members, who accept a fair share of its risks and benefits. A co-operative, therefore, lies somewhere between a private business and a State enterprise. Its underlying purpose is not only economic but social: to protect the small producer or consumer, raise his standard of life, and give him a share in ownership and control.
By definition, co-operatives should fill a vital development gap in African countries. These countries have, as a rule, quite inadequate resources of capital or trained manpower. There is hardly any African “entrepreneur” class, and only the beginnings of an urban middle-class. The bulk of the population remains cultivators and fishermen, living at a subsistence level. If one takes, for example, a relatively advanced African state, Nigeria, the census figures taken a few years ago show 78 per cent of African males engaged in agriculture, forestry and fishing, as against 6 per cent in commerce and 6 per cent in manufacturing.
Certain African regimes have tried to take a shortcut to economic growth, leading from tribalism to socialism. It has been tempting to grasp at a formula which seems to promise an escape from economic frustration, a ready-made ideology, and unfettered political command from the top. But such a system also implies rigid central planning, an elaborate bureaucratic apparatus, and a lack of individual freedom, and is unlikely to provide a ready answer to African problems.
Description
Available in print form, East Africana Collection, Dr Wilbert Chagula Library, (EAF FOS C73.K4)
Keywords
African self-help
Citation
Comay, Michael (1966) A key to African self-help