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Colonialism & The System of Government: |
British Policy of Direct & Indirect Rule:
Since 1816 the, the colonialist government of The Gambia,
West Africa, was on the crown
colony system of colonialism with its administration answerable to the Governor in
Sierra Leone. The Gambian territory was governed from Sierra Leone from
1821 to 1843 and from 1866 to 1888. When the administration was
attached to that of Sierra Leone in 1866, the Gambian executive and
legislative councils were abolished.
In place of the executive
and legislative councils a small advisory group was created consisting
of the administrator, collector customs and the Chef Magistrate. When
the administrative link between The Gambia and Sierra Leone were
severed in 1888 The Gambia became a separate colony. The country was
given its own executive and legislative councils. In 1893 the
government of the colony was empowered to make the necessary rules and
orders for the extension of British rule to the protectorate.
British Policy of Direct Rule in the Colony:
The head
of the colonial administration was the Governor who represented the
British Government in the area and was not responsible to the people
of the colony, but was directly responsible to the British Government. He was vested with a number of powers
including the power of veto. He could make laws by proclamation and
was the president of both the executive and legislative councils. The
courts, the Civil Service and other institutions of the government
were put under his control
Executive & Legislative Councils:
The function of the executive council was to advise the Governor in
matters of administration. Before World War II all members of the
Executive Council were appointed by the Governor. These included the
Colonial Secretary, Director of Medical Services, collector of customs
duties and other officials.
The functions of the legislative
council were to discuss the affairs of the colony and to make laws for
the colony. The laws made by the Legislative Council required the
assent of the Governor who could veto them.
Indirect Rule:
The British policy
of indirect rule served as the basis of local government
administration in all her West African colonies. The policy was first
popularised by Lord Lugard who served as governor general of Nigeria
between 1914 to 1919. After he left Nigeria Lugard described his
theory of indirect rule in a book titled "The Dual Mandate in Tropical
Africa" published in 1922 in which he said:
"The British
Empire.... has only one mission for liberty and self development on no
standardised lines, so that all may feel that their interests and
religion are safe under the British flag. Such liberty and self
development can be best secured to the native population by leaving
them free to manage their own affairs through their own rulers,
proportionately to their degree of advancement, under the guidance of
the British staff, and subject to the laws and policy of the
administration".
The theory of indirect rule was aimed at
governing colonised peoples through their chiefs and local
institutions. A major difficulty the British had in administering her
colonies in West Africa was that there were simply not enough English
men prepared to serve as colonial administrators in that part of the
empire. Indirect rule had the advantage of be cheap since traditional
rulers were less expensive than British officials. For this reason
Lugard, and other British Governors in West Africa, adopted the system
for the administration of local government in the region.
Indirect Rule in the Gambia Protectorate:
The policy was introduced in Gambia by Governor Sir R.B. Llewelyn of
the Bathurst colony in 1893. In that year he appointed two travelling
Commissioners for the North and South Banks of the river. The
functions of these roving Commissioners, Mr. J.H. Ozane and Mr. F.
Sitwell, was to move from village to village to inform the chiefs
about the system of indirect rule that was to be introduced by the
colonial government. They were also required to assert their position
so that the chiefs and people could know that they represented the
authority of the Governor in Bathurst.
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The 27th December, 1894 Ordinance:
The first major legislation for governing the protectorate was "the
Gambia Protectorate Ordinance 1894". It was "an Ordinance to provide
for the exercise in the protected territories of certain powers and
jurisdiction by native authorities and by Commissioners". It
established that "All native laws and customs in force in the
protected territories which are not repugnant to natural justice nor
incompatible with any Ordinance of the colony which applies to the
protected territories, shall have the same effect as regulations made
under this Ordinance".
Under the ordinance the protectorate was
divided into administrative districts and placed under the charge of
chiefs. A few of these chiefs were of the traditional royal ruling
classes but many were appointed by the colonial government to fill the
power vacuum that existed in many parts of the country. Native courts
were also created and "the administrator shall appoint fit persons in
each district, not exceeding five, to be a court or native tribunal
having power and jurisdiction to try breaches of any regulations or
any such native laws or customs... and to exercise civil and criminal
jurisdiction in causes and matters aforementioned, in which all the
parties are natives".
It also spelt out the administrative
powers of the chiefs. The head chief of a district was to be the
president of the local court of that district and have civil
jurisdiction in areas of petty conflict resolution and adjudication.
In criminal jurisdiction these courts would have control over matters
which would not exceed fines of 5 Pounds Sterling or imprisonment of
over 3 weeks. Chiefs were to act as conservators of the peace and
executors of any laws passed by the colonial government or the
commissioner of the district. Chiefs were also empowered by the 1894
Ordinance to detain and send to the commissioner or the courts of
Bathurst persons accused of major crimes "such as murder, robbery or
slave dealing".
The 1895 Ordinance:
In 1895 the
colonial government enacted "an ordinance to provide for the raising
and collection of revenue in the Gambia Protectorate". It was known as
the "Yard Tax" ordinance and its purpose was to set up a yard tax
for the protectorate. Although the total expenditure for protectorate
services in 1895 was estimated to be £1,455 out of a total expenditure
of £29,875, it was the Colonial Government's view that the people of
Gambia were to be made to share in the cost f the administration. As a
result every owner or occupier of any yard that contained more than 4
huts would pay 4 shillings per annum, and for each additional hut
occupied by members of the family 1 extra shilling per year and
"Strange farmers" were to pay 2 shillings. In 1904 a total of £3,168
was collected by the yard tax.
The early years of indirect rule were largely experimental and
depended to a large extent on the personalities or competence of the
travelling Commissioners. Even though a protectorate system had been
proclaimed, the conditions in certain areas of the country were still
unsettled. The Soninke-Marabout Wars were still continuing during this
period and there were certain areas where the Travelling Commissioners
would not venture unless accompanied by an escort. Indeed the killings
of Sitwell and Silva in 1900 at Sankandi marked a turning point. The
British and French military forces managed to kill Fode Kabba which
had the effect of convincing lesser chiefs of the determination of the
British to impose their rule over the protectorate.
The 1902 Ordinance:
This ordinance incorporated Fuladu into the protectorate system
and gave more powers to the travelling Commissioners.
Accordingly they were made the chief executives of their
districts thereby negating the policy of indirect rule.
An important step taken to standardise the system of
protectorate rule was the institution in 1944 of an annual
chief's conference, held for the first time in Janjangburay in
the Central River Division (CRD). This gathering of the now 35
chiefs was to provide a forum for them to make suggestions and
to criticise programmes initiated by the central government or
the Commissioners. It also allowed a forum for the central
government to introduce proposals for development within the
protectorate area.
The main aim of British rule up to the
start of WW 2 was to create and maintain peace in the area with
the minimum of expense. The work of the chiefs and Commissioners
was to generate revenue to run the administration rather than
provide social services. The system of government excluded
educated Gambians from taking an active part in the government.
For these reasons the system of indirect rule in The Gambia
contributed to the social and political stagnation that
prevailed in the rural areas up to the time of independence from
Britain.
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See also
