THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION IN NORTHERN RHODESIA: ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGISLATIVE CHANGES, 1929-1939 BY MBOZI SANTEBE A Dissertation Submitted to the University of Zambia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in History THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA LUSAKA © 2015 i DECLARATION I, Mbozi Santebe, declare that this dissertation (a) Represents my own work; (b) Has not previously been submitted for a degree at this or any other University; and (c) Does not incorporate any published work or material from another dissertation. Signed …………………………………………………………………………………….. Date ……………………………………………………………………………………... ii COPYRIGHT All rights reserved. No part of this dissertation may be reproduced or stored in any form or by any means without prior permission in writing from the author or the University of Zambia. iii APPROVAL This dissertation of Mbozi Santebe is approved as fulfilling the partial requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Arts in History by the University of Zambia. Date Signed ………………………………………………. …………………………….. Signed ………………………………………………. …………………………….. Signed ………………………………………………. …………………………….. iv ABSTRACT This study focuses on the administrative and legislative changes that the colonial government made in response to the impact of the Great Depression in Northern Rhodesia. It reveals that the government mainly responded to the decline in government revenues, the widespread poverty and destitution and the distortion of internal trade. The study shows that during the emergency period, 1932-1934, the administration made changes to government structures and functioning so as to curtail expenditure and balance its budget. It reorganised staff in the public service, reduced budgetary allocations to departments and realigned several departments and provinces. The colonial government also passed various pieces of legislation during the emergency period. Its fiscal legislative changes legalised new taxes that were envisaged to raise extra revenues with which to balance the budget. To reduce poverty and destitution, the government passed legislation that introduced new currency from England and Southern Rhodesia, legalised compulsory repatriation of destitutes to their countries of origin and restricted immigration into Northern Rhodesia. The study concludes that some of the changes made yielded good results while others did not. The government managed to reduce annual budget deficits but failed to balance the budget during the emergency period. Also, the staff reduction scheme caused work pressure on the remaining staff and reduced government efficiency. Although currency was acquired during the emergency period, the circulation of money remained distorted up to around 1938 as many rural dwellers resented the use of small value coins having become accustomed to barter trade during the times of currency scarcity. v DEDICATION To my late father Mr. George Santebe Sankanga and my mother Ms. Beatrice Masiliso Ngenda who both sacrificed a lot for my education. To my wife Janepher Musakanya and our children Pumulo, Likando and Musakanya who missed me a lot during my research. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work could not have been accomplished without the assistance I received from various individuals and institutions that I owe a lot of thanks. Firstly, I thank my Supervisor, Dr. W.S. Kalikiti, for the guidance he gave to me during my study. I also thank Prof. B.J. Phiri, Prof. M.C. Musambachime and Dr. W.T. Kalusa, whose lectures on historical research methodologies and various historiographies prepared me to undertake this intellectually demanding task. Furthermore, I thank all the staff of the Department of History at the University of Zambia who commented on various drafts of this report. I am also indebted to staff at various institutions that facilitated the conduct of my research. I thank the staff of the Special Collections Section of the University of Zambia Main Library and those of the National Archives of Zambia in Lusaka, the Livingstone Museum, the Mining Industry Archives in Ndola and FENZA Library and Archives in Lusaka, all of whom lightened my research burden by locating and availing to me various sources that I used in this study. Finally, I am greatly indebted to the Staff Development Committee of the University of Zambia for giving me a most valuable opportunity to pursue my postgraduate studies under the sponsorship of the University and in particular for funding this research. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Title Page ………………………………………………………………………………………… i Declaration ……………...……………………………………………………………………….. ii Copyright ………………...……………………………………………………………………... iii Approval …………………...……………………………………………………….................... iv Abstract ……………………...…………………………………………………………………... v Dedication ……………………...……………………………………………………………….. vi Acknowledgements ……………...……………………………………………………………... vii Table of Contents …………………...…………………………………………………………. viii Abbreviations ……………………………………………………………………………………. x List of Illustrations ………..…………………………………………………………………….. xi Chapter One: Introduction and Historical Background ……………………………..................... 1 Chapter Two: Factors that Influenced the Response of the Colonial Government to the impact of the Great Depression …………………………………………………………………………… 15 Chapter Three: Administrative Changes in Response to the impact of the Depression …...…... 47 Chapter Four: Legislative Changes in Response to the impact of the Great Depression ……… 75 viii Chapter Five: The Role and Impact of the Government’s Administrative and Legislative Response to the Depression ………………………………………………………………...… 103 Chapter Six: Conclusion .……………………………………………………………………... 121 Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………………….. 124 Appendix 1 .…………………………………………………………………………………… 133 Appendix 2 ……………………………………………………………………………………. 134 ix ABBREVIATIONS FENZA ………………………………..…………………..…… Faith and Encounter in Zambia. MIA ……………………………………………………. Mining Industry Archives. NAZ ……...………………………………………………………. National Archives of Zambia. RST …………………………………………………………………... Rhodesian Selection Trust. x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Table 1: Cases of crime reported in Northern Rhodesia, 1930-1933 ………………………….. 30 Table 2: Provinces and Districts of Northern Rhodesia in 1934 ………………………………. 72 Table 3: Rates of Income Tax in Northern Rhodesia in 1933 …………………………………. 80 Table 4: Rates of Emergency Tax in Northern Rhodesia in 1933 …………………................... 85 Table 5: Rates of Entertainments Duty in Northern Rhodesia, 1933-1934 ....…………………. 86 xi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The Great Depression, which occurred between 1929 and 1939, affected every aspect of human endeavour in all parts of the capitalist world1 and did not spare Africa. It disrupted economic, social and political activities in many parts of Africa and forced colonial governments to change some of the existing policies and adopt new ones in response to the challenges faced.2 Responses of colonial administrations to the impact of the Depression in some African countries such as Northern Rhodesia have largely eluded historical analysis. Therefore, this study explores the response of the colonial government to the impact of the Great Depression in Northern Rhodesia by focusing on the administrative and legislative changes that the administration made. The study begins from 1929 when the Depression started in the United States of America (USA) and ends in 1939 when the World War II broke out and began to influence colonial policies in Africa. The Great Depression or Great Slump refers to the economic crisis that the capitalist world experienced in the 1930s which was more widespread, deeper and longer than any other depression in the twentieth century.3 It was a period of unprecedented trade contraction, bank failures, investment cutbacks, acute unemployment, wage reductions and a sharp decline in the 1 Herbert Heaton, The Economic History of Europe (New York: Harper and Row, 1948), p. 696 and Christina D. Romer, “The Nation in Depression”, Journal of Economic Perspectives 7, 2 (1993), p. 19. 2 See, for example, B. Jewsiewicki, “The Great Depression and the Making of the Colonial Economic System in the Belgian Congo”, African Economic History 4 (1977), pp. 153-176; Bonaventure Swai, “Tanganyika and the Great Depression, 1929-1936”, Transafrican Journal of History 9, 2 (1980), pp. 192-254; Moses Ochonu, “Conjoined to Empire: The Great Depression and Nigeria”, African Economic History 34 (2006), pp. 103-145 and Jane I. Guyer, “The Depression and the Administration in South-Central Cameroun”, African Economic History 10 (1981), pp. 67- 79. 3 R. Dornbusch and S. Fischer, Macroeconomics (Blacklick, Ohio: Mac Graw-Hill, 1993), p. 443 and C.P. Kindleberger, The World in Depression, 1929-1939 (London: The Penguin Books, 1973), pp. 291-292. 1 standard of living in the capitalist world.4 The industrialised countries had experienced economic crises even before 1929 but none of them was as severe and extensive as the Great Depression.5 Beginning with the New York Stock Market Crash in October 1929, the waves of the Depression swiftly spread to and hit all European stock markets. European economies were already fragile and vulnerable to economic catastrophe as a result of the impact of the World War I. Thus, like in the USA, the slump caused serious economic breakdowns in Europe. From 1929 to 1931, the Depression was characterised by an almost uninterrupted decline in commodity prices, trade, production and employment in the western world.6 Economic