| Colonialism &
The System of Government: |
British Policy of Direct & Indirect
Rule:
Since 1816, The Gambia, West Africa, was ruled under 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 Janjangbureh
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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