Introduction - UNDP The Gambia

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________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5 The Role of Traditional Structures and Actors in the Pursuit of the MDGs CHAPTER PREVIEW Overview of the Traditional Structures and Their Roles ♦ Gambian Traditional Structures Traditional Structures and Implementation of the National Development Strategies within the Context of the Millennium Development Goals ♦ Reduction of Poverty : Challenges ♦ Achievement of Universal Primary Education and Gender Equality Challenges ♦ Reduction of Child Mortality and Improvement of Maternal Health Challenges ♦ Combating HIV/AIDS: Challenges ♦ Ensuring Environmental Sustainability – Challenges Challenges of the Traditional System ♦ The Policy Context ♦ Institutional Frameworks ♦ Gender and Local Structures Conclusions and Recommendations It is becoming increasingly evident that the challenges of improving economic and human development, reducing poverty and the achievement of the MDG targets require strengthening local government structures, grassroots organisations and community-based organisations. These interventions will need to be accompanied by a strong emphasis on decentralisation or deconcentration for sustainable development. The specific objectives of this chapter are to: • assess the impact of traditional structures on capacity building for the achievement of the MDGs. • expose to Government and its development partners the advantages and potentials inherent in these traditional structures. • address the constraints that impede the effectiveness and efficiency of these structures in capacity building for the achievement of the MDGs. 5.1 Overview of the Traditional Structures and Their Roles 5.1.1 Introduction Human development is inextricably linked to sustainable human resource development. To facilitate the attainment of the MDG targets, The Gambia has to use the existing traditional structures that guarantee the necessary support and to strengthen them through a process of decentralisation. This requires the involvement of the local communities from the start of policy planning at the local level to ensure the development of an effective delivery system that is supported by the local population. Traditional structures that have been historically and traditionally known to contribute to effective management and governance of the Gambia will be critical players in this process. To facilitate the attainment of the MDG targets, The Gambia has to use the existing traditional structures that guarantee the ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Building Capacity for the Attainment of the Millennium Development Goals in The Gambia National Human Development Report 2005 50
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ necessary support and to strengthen them through a process of decentralisation. This requires the involvement of the local communities from the start of policy planning at the local level to ensure the development of an effective delivery system that is supported by the local population. In Africa, traditional structures have been used effectively to bargain for development, such as the Council of Chiefs in Ghana and the emirate and caliphate in northern Nigeria. In The Gambia, similar traditional structures exist, which form the basis of the country’s traditional systems. Several studies have shown that African social and material development is influenced by a complex composition of groupings, associations and structures that have evolved from time immemorial in response to changing circumstances. These structures have served various interests, have been utilised in many ways and have altered substantially over time. The structures have consistently formed the normal framework on which both colonial and post-colonial development policies and politics have relied to achieve their development aims and objectives. They also serve as the entry point for the social, political and economic communication of social interactions, thus forming the cultural, social and material context. During the colonial period, the colonial masters in most parts of the continent viewed such groups as conduits and opportunities to enhance their colonial policy. These traditional structures facilitated control, hence the persistence of existing social structures and traditional political systems, which play crucial roles in current development initiatives in Africa. In most cases, these frameworks were allowed to maintain their separate identity as in the past but were incorporated simultaneously into the colonial structures. The colonialists did not have to reinvent the wheel to entrench their policies, but rather worked closely with the existing structures by enhancing their capacity to suit their objectives. Through this process, the British used the Indirect Rule principle to access those that would facilitate the process for them. Similarly, the French principle of assimilation was based on their objectives. 5.1.2 Gambian Traditional Structures Generally, Gambian traditional structures have their roots in the country’s traditional forms of social organisations and groupings, with development initiatives conducted through a complex web of social and institutional settings, and interpersonal relationships. Traditionally, the political set-ups are based on founding families who were considered king-makers. Succession was based on seniority and concession among the elders in a particular district comprising a number of villages ruled by a chief with each village headed by an alkalo. The traditional structures at the community/municipal levels have always been development partners of the government. It is the state that provides the context for official interactions (of traditional authorities) in the public domain. The structures constitute the fundamental building blocks of the interchanges and actions to fulfil development; they have been reshaped or new ones formed. Through these structures various interests obtain access to resources and enhance cultural and social meaning. Among them are the Council of Elders, the chieftaincy, alkaloship, imamship, kabilo (clan organisations), kafoo and gendered groups, which exist in almost all Gambian communities. The Kabilo Systems: Gambian kingdoms were ruled by a single lineage or kabilo (Sonko-Godwin, 1994). Thus settlements in The Gambia are divided into wards: kabilo/kabiloolu in Mandinka, sare or sinchu in Fula, sancha in Wolof etc, each of which traces its origins to a particular lineage or ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Building Capacity for the Attainment of the Millennium Development Goals in The Gambia National Human Development Report 2005 51
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Introduction - UNDP The Gambia

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