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Twitter rises in defence of ‘ballot committees’ following Rs420m scam by Karachi-based committee leader

Twitter rises in defence of ‘ballot committees’ following Rs420m scam by Karachi-based committee leader

People called them financially convenient for women and recounted personal stories of being able to afford education, cars and living expenses because of them.
05 Dec, 2022

A woman reportedly defrauded people of millions of rupees through ‘committees’, starting a debate on Pakistani Twitter as to the relevance of committees in this day and age. The discourse raised questions such as was it really wise for the scammed people to have invested in this in the first place? How can people rely on committees when there are banks? How do committees work and why do people still prefer them over formal financial institutions? Twitter users shared their personal success stories, defending the age-old method.

Recently, hundreds of people, mostly women, were robbed of Rs420 million allegedly by a Karachi-based social media influencer and businesswoman, Sidra Humaid, who ran a monthly ballot committee system — a means of interest-free savings and pooling money commonly known as BC or committees — without keeping any written records of depositors/contributors, which resulted in the whole scheme ending in total fraud.

While some jumped in to criticise the victims of this scam and the committee method of saving money, others were quick to counter this by calling the former out on their privilege and listing a host of factors that form people’s preference of committees.

Netizens shared personal experiences of their parents being able to afford many of life’s necessities through committees. They emphasised on how banks have not been as accommodating to their mothers, who then resorted to what was convenient and accessible to make ends meet.

They also made a comparison with bank loans and how they failed people.

Even a student could vouch for committees coming to their aid when their salary was not enough to cover their expenses.

Twitter users stressed that reliability is core when it comes to investing in committees. Consequently, it has enabled many women to find a semblance of financial independence and build their assets.

This user attributed popularity of committees to them being a “social alternative to private, commercial lending”.

What really needs to be addressed, according to a netizen, is the failure of formal financial systems and lack of financial literacy.

What is your take on committees?

Comments

jsav12 Dec 05, 2022 07:03pm
Who cares how people save? Just don't entrust your money to random people.
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Jill Dec 05, 2022 08:01pm
Surprised at the lack of ignorance among educated MBA Pakistanis as well ...in today world who does mot know of banking ..absurd..
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Jin Dec 05, 2022 10:07pm
Anecdotal evidence- there is 0 security in committees. This was bound to happen sooner or later. These individuals are somewhat wrong. Also banking should be accessible to every adult and subadult in Pakistan.
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Waleed Dec 05, 2022 10:52pm
@Jill privilege talking, please let me know the name of the bank which can grant me an interest free loan for 1-2 years.
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Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad Dec 05, 2022 11:32pm
Too little, too late.
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Reality Dec 06, 2022 05:42am
Well it depends on perspective n security...the age old systems are good as long as you get back your principle amount otherwise cry...have seen many cry at the end too also seen many build their dreams....so it all depends on risk appetite
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Bol Ke Lab Azad Hain Tere Dec 06, 2022 08:18am
I agree with Halima Iqbal, who has so concisely summarised the entire issue at hand.
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IFTIKHAR Dec 06, 2022 08:56am
In Normal Committee, Everyone knows everyone and its Returns are Guaranteed.
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Abdullah Dec 06, 2022 09:30am
Why invest in comitted .keep it in your bank and work harder to take more money.Stop putting your money in others hands.
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ABKhan Dec 06, 2022 10:15am
People should stop trusting these influencer aunties
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Rebirth Dec 06, 2022 12:30pm
The model helps you save and then withdraw the cash but doesn’t account for inflation, nor does the cash grow in the process. People earn less than they’re investing but it seems like it’s growing just like when there’s an increase in the prices of real estate projects but it doesn’t account for how prices of everything went up too. Our informal economy is mathematically flawed because profits aren’t inflation-adjusted. A local credit union would operate no different than a bank because they’ll just rely on the net interest spread, instead of investing in anything to help grow our economy. Credit unions are not the answer. Neither is government involvement. Only one person being held in a foreign country is the answer. We must demand that he be freed from intellectual property thieves, along with a couple of families associated with him, so that they may help Pakistani middle class families grow their earnings. Spontaneity protects from probing subconscious minds using neural networks.
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