Ubuntu and asset building: Decolonising and practicalising cattle ownership in rural South Africa

Abstract

Abstract: This is a qualitative paper built on literature review. Some literature allege that subsistence communal cattle farmers were unwilling to participate in mainstream marketing as a matter of choice, alternatively lack of capital and skills. My doctoral thesis similarly found but one factor stood out to the contrary. It found that the majority of the participants instead kept animals for other people without owning such animals. This impacted on lack of decision regarding market participation. Various strategies and policy tools have been adopted in most African communities to empower poor individuals to own cattle, but these strategies have achieved mixed results. My lecture here this evening extracted lack of ownership as needing attention to redress the problem. This lecture builds on the assertion that African indigenous instruments and tools can address the problem. This paper adopted the Girinka approach which was used in Rwanda to transfer cattle to empower poor households to own cattle as the framework. This Girinka produced good results and empowered many households on cattle ownership. Poor households managed to build asset base which enabled them to build wealth. This lecture uses Ubuntu as an instrument which could be used to transfer cattle from the fortunate to the less fortunate households to empower the poor to own cattle and build sustainable wealth.