Posted by Chester Morton / Monday 18 April 2016 / No comments
The functions of the Executive Council under the Crown Colony system of administration
THE
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL UNDER THE CROWN COLONY SYSTEM
Introduction
The crown
colony system of administration also made provision for an Executive Council as
part of the administrative structure of the British colony. The members of the
Executive Council were mainly heads of important governmental departments in
the colonies.
Until 1942,
the membership of the Executive Council was mainly Europeans. It was only until
1942 that two Africans were appointed to serve on that Council. These Africans
were Nana Ofori Atta and Sir Arku Korsah. Then in 1943, Nana Tchibu Darko was added.
FUNCTIONS OF
THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Formulation
of policies
One of the
functions of the Executive Council was to advise the Governor on the
formulation of policies. Constituted by heads of important departments within
the colony, the input of the members of the Council is very crucial because
they have first-hand information on the goings on in their individual
departments and therefore have an idea about how best to fix them
Implementation
of policies
Another
function of the Executive Council was to implement the policies so formulated.
Being the heads of Departments and being privy to the processes leading to the
final policy document, they appear to be the best people to implement them once
they have been approved.
Granting of
amnesty
Again, the
Executive Council played a prominent role in the granting of pardon to
convicted criminals. They, for example, could advise the Governor on the
exercise of that power of prerogative of mercy.
Allocation
of land
Though the
governor had the power to allocate land to people who needed it for commercial
activities, he received advice from the Executive Council in taking a decision.
Acted as an
intermediary
The
Executive Council was the arena of the formulation of policies before laws are
made to actualize those policies. Therefore, the Executive Council functioned
to link the Governor and the Legislative Council.
LIMITATIONS
ON THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Governor not
bound to take their advice
One of the
limitations of the Executive Council was that the Governor was not under any
obligation to take its advice. To take or not to take advice from the Executive
Council was at the discretion of the Governor.
Governor
appointed most members of the Council
The Governor
a certain controlling influence over the members of the Executive Council. This
was so because he was the head of the Council and most of the appointments to
the Council were made by him. Therefore, since the members owe their continued
presence on the Council to the Governor, they supported him and the decisions
he endorsed.
Members were
all Europeans
Another
criticism of the Executive council was that it was made up only of European
officials. This was the case up until 1942. Before this time, Africans were
excluded from the membership of the Executive Council.
Accountability
to the Legislative Council
Unlike the
practice of parliamentary system in Britain at the time, where the cabinet was
and still is responsible to the Parliament, in the Gold Coast, the members of
the Executive Council were responsible to the Governor, instead of being
responsible to the Legislature. This was clearly against what pertained in
Britain at the time.
Oversight by
Secretary of State for the colonies
The
Secretary of State for the colonies also had some control over the Executive
Council. In order to ensure that the policies that were pursued in the colonies
were in tandem with metropolitan London, the minutes of all the Executive
Council meetings were forwarded to the Secretary of State for the Colonies for
perusal.
SAMPLE
QUESTION(S)
1. Highlight six functions of the Executive Council under the Crown Colony system
of administration.
2. a. List
four functions of the Executive Council under the Crown Colony system of
administration.
b. In which five ways were the powers of
the Executive Council limited?
3. Examine
six reasons why the Executive Council during the colonial days was described as
toothless.
4. Highlight
six limitations of the Executive Council under the Crown Colony System of
administration.
