80 SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI-TAKORADI Earning a living in the town is, as has been shown, a precarious J business. Prosperity is .dependent upon forces over which a worker has no control. A sense of insecurity enters where a situation gets beyond control, and some seek security from traditional practices and beliefs. Accordingly the cult of Tigare, which is a form of dynamism expressing the traditional belief in magic or an all pervading potency, has gained many votaries. It was established at the village of Ngyeresia, one mile from Sekondi, about one year ago. Its devotees include Pagans and Christians of all denominations. It is believed that the fetish helps in child-bearing, cures diseases, and protects -against envy, and evil spirits. Accord- ingly, people go to it to seek protection from sickness and witch- craft, or from failure in business, or for help to bear children, or to gain wealth or promotion. , Tigare has been introduced from the Northern Territories. Its earlier home was in the French Ivory Coast. In the South, it has acquired so many accretions from adaptation. to the beliefs and practices of the people that its origin would be hardly recognizable, but for the toga worn by the priests, and the· cowries and the kola attached to the fetish. This consists of a black bag containing cowries and kola. The latter is offered to devotees who seek its aid. .. The Tigare fetish at Ngyeresia has the following command- ments which devotees must promise to keep: (r) Thou shalt not steal. (2) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife . .; (3) Honour thy father and thy mother. ' ./ (4) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. (5) Love thy neighbour as thyself. .J . (6) Thou shalt not administer medicine of noxious or poisonous nature. Devotees -are also enjoined not to practise witchcraft, 'or cherish evil thoughts about others, or speak ill of them, or take the life of another. If a devotee breaks any of these commands, he has to make full confession, do penance, and pay the necessary fee in order to be " sanctified." There are regular celebrations on Sundays when the fetish may be consulted, and, after the traditional Akan religious practice, there are spe@ial forty-day festivals on the " Akwasidae" and {' Wukudae "'or " Anwonada." ASSOCIATIONS 8J For the purpose of the Survey, it is only necessary to note that many of the townspeople flock to Ngyeresia to participate in the singing and drumming connected with the rites of the fetish, and that Tigare is one of the agencies through which some of the people seek protection from the hardships of town life. A series of counts showed that an average of 260 votaries attend its weekly celebrations. Social and Recreational The assoclatlOns which centre round social or recreational interests are many, and all that can be done here is to emphasize their growing importance in the social life of the town. A list of the more prominent ones are given in Appendix VIc. The most enjoyed leisure activities are football, lawn-tennis, singing, drumming and dancing; and the associations catering for these interests are the most popular. Other leisure activities which do not centre in permanent associations but are very widely enjoyed are draughts, swimming, the cinema, and ball-room dancing'. The "Rex" Cinema which has branches in Sekondi and Takoradi is regularly attended by large numbers of both young people and adults. Ball-room dancing holds a prominent place in leisure activities. Formerly, only literate men and women took part in it, but an increasing number of illiterate women now attend ball-room dances which have become a regular, popular, and expensive social activity. Much money is spent on dresses, tickets and drinks, so much so that ball-room dancing is one of the subjects around which there is considerable social conflict. Some decry it as a source of many evils and express disapproval of the "modern woman" who has not time for anything else but dancing; others defend it as a most modern form of entertainment. There is no doubt about its popularity. Whatever the particular interests which an association serves, it adds the additional benefit that its members take part in the -funeral obsequies of a deceased member. In many instances, the members provide a ring, at a cost varying from l OS. 6d. to £2 2S., for the corpse, or contribute money which they offer to the bereaved family; Political Associations Asajo Companies There are three associations which may be classified as political : the Asafo Companies, the Ratepayers' Associatio~ and the United Gold Coast Convention. SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI-TAKORADI The Asafo Companies are a part of the traditional political structure. British Sekondi has one, and Dutch Sekondi has four companies. Every Ahanta belongs to one of these companies, on a hereditary, patrilineal principle. The Companies were primarily military organizations, each company consisting of platoons, captains, flag-bearers, and drummers. Their military functions have become unnecessary, but they continue to play an important part in the election and installation of chiefs, the annual Kuntum festival, and the celebration of the funeral rites of chiefs or -their own members_ Company Captains (Asafohemfo) serve on Chiefs' Councils, and the Asafo Companies are consulted in the election of chiefs. Within the traditional constitution, they exercise an effective check on the chief and his council, and they have been known to initiate and effect the destoolment of unpopular chiefs. In this way, the Companies have served as a political organ - through which the popular w ill has found e..'!:pression. But they operate only within the traditional political structure, and are therefore concerned only with the work of the Native Authorities. T he Ratepqyers' Association The Ratepayers' Association is an organization designed to meet the new urban situation where the population includes many more than the indigenous Ahanta. All l~ndlords and tenants who may vo~e at the Municipal elections are eligible for membership . Interest in the Association has been lukewarm, and its activities spasmodic; there have been only 75 members on its roll. Its meetings have been irregular, and have been held only when elections were imminent, and intending candidates desired to canvass for votes for election to the T own Councilor the Legislative Council. ./ Efforts are being made to organize the Association more effectively, and three meetings have recently been held with the aim of getting the Ratepayers together so that they may" realise their civic rights and responsibilities," and" regard themselves as citizens and not strangers." About an average of zoo people have attended these meetings _ New officers have been elected, and there are 83 names on the new roll being compiled. There is to be a membership fee of one shilling a year to meet secretarial expenses . The apathy of the Ratepayers' Association, hitherto, is in conformity with the tendency, already noted, for many of the inhabitants of the town to regard themselves as "strangers" ASSOCIATIONS 83 having no CIVIC responsibilities, rather than as citizens having rights and duties in the town. The United Gold Coast Convention Sekondi is the headquarters of the county-wide political organi- zation, the United Gold Coast Convention, which was inaugurated last year, and whose activities have been held responsible for the disturbances which took place in the country during February ,I ( and March this year. The aim of the organization is to achieve self-government for ~- the country in the shortest possible time. Its meetings in Sekondi have always been largely attended, and there are many ardent supporters of the movement. It has I,500 members in the town, many of whom are enthusiastic members. The subject of associations hardly admits of statistical treat- ment. Moreover, detailed descriptions have been avoided, as the main object of the foregoing is to point to the existence of numerous associations as a significant feature of the social structure-- of the town, and one of the social chap.ges that have resulted from urbanization. ~ In a village community, the all-embracing network of kinship tends to bring the same people together for all sig- j nificant social activities. In the town, many associations have sprung up to cater for different interests. / CHAPTER VII SOCIAL FAILURES: I.-JUVENILE DELINQUENCY Juvenile Delinquency is largely a problem of the larger towns. The best way to throw light on it is to discuss actual cases. In the seven months between October 1947 and April 1948, thi.J;ty-four · juveniles from the Sekondi-Takoradi Municipality appeared before the Juvenile Court at Sekondi. Tables I, II, and III of Appendix VIIa contain a summary of the information about these juveniles, giving in respect of each, the Tribe,' Town, Age, Sex, Education, Religion, the length of residence in the Municipality, the offence committed, and some information about the parel1ts. Of the thirty-foUT juveniles, twenty-four had been to school~. as against ten who had not. Only two of these went beyond Standard 3. The discontinuance of schooling appeared to be a cause rather than an effect of delinquency. \ There were thirty-one boys, and three girls. This sex ratio is significant, confirming that there are many more boy delinquents than girls. Thirseen of the juvenile delinquents had lived only one year or less in the Municipality, ele~n had lived from two to four years, seven from five to ten years,. aad only three were born in the Municipality. . This is also significant in that children coming into the Municipality from the country tend to be those more easily unsettled by the conditions of town life; con- sequently many delinquents are found. ~mong boys who have been sent away from home to continue their schooling in large towns. Twenty-five of them described themselves as Christians, four as - Mohammedans, and five-as Pagans. No fa-f.,ts emerged from this small sample to justify any significance. being attached to religious affiliations. Elght of them at the time of their arrest were under no super- vision, and were wandering on their own and fending for them- . selves. The rest were living with parents or guardians but the supervision was in most cases ineffective. 84 SOCIAL FAILURES: I.-JUVENILE DELINQUENCY 85 The tribal distribution was :- Ahanta (the indigenous tribe) 6 Other parts of the Colony (14 Fanti, 1 ' 'Vassaw, 1 Nzima, 1 Ga) 17 Nigeria 5 Ashanti.. 2 Northern Territories .. French T erritory 2 Liberia .. Total 34- Seventeen of the juveniles appeared before the Court for stealing, nine for being" exposed to physical and moral danger," six for" wandering and having no place of abode," one for " indecent assault" and one for assaulting a Police Officer. The Sample confirms that the commonest offences committed by juvenile delinquents are against property; but the fifteen non- criminal cases, as well as some of the criminal ones are Care and Protection cases which point to the disintegration of family structure borne out by' the analysis below. An examination of the case histories of the delinquents in the Sample showed the factors contributing to delinquency to be 'many: Housing difficulties, -overcrowding, und~rfeeding, poverty, /the absence of recreational facilities, discontinuance of schooling, / the disintegration of the family system, conflict or dichotomy of cultural standards, and the tempting environments of the town. But broken homes, / and defective parental control were the 'predominant causes. Juvenile Delinquency is primarily due to the failure of home life. This "failure of home life" is manifested in different forms. I t may be the mother is a widow; the child was born out of wedlock; husband and wife are living apart; or they lead a cat and dog life; or one or other has taken a fresh partner, or there is a step-parent. Separation of Parents Five of the cases were the result of the separation of the parents. Two.case histories will suffice as illustrations. S. Aged 13 . Born in Sekondi. Botfl his father and mother are natives of Elmina. S. is the eldest of his mother's five childre'"n, but he has three older half-brothers, his father's children by his first wife. His parents were married in 1934, and lived together with their children in the same house until recently. The marriage 86 SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDl-TAKORADI appears to have been happy. But towards the end of last year, a misunderstanding between the parents resulted in their separation. Shortly after the separation, S. became a different boy. He became irregular at school, showed little interest in his studies, became ill-tempered, and specially rude to his father with whom he lived. H e was more kindly disposed towards his mother, and would often go to help her with her work. Whenever he was asked ~to go back to his father's house, he went prowling about the streets instead. It was when he was thus wandering about that he committed the offen~e of stealing two yards-of cloth. A similar state of affairs led K. aged 12, to the Juvenile Court. Four years after his birth, his parents quarrelled over a small difficulty and separated and have since stayed apart. K. was left in the father's custody, and when he was old enough he used to help the father on his farm at Anaje. ' Later, he began to stay away from the farm, complaining that the work was difficult, and that he wanted to go and live with his mother at Effia. As the father would not send him to the mother, K. often stayed away from home. Eventually, the father sent him back to the mother. After a short while, the mother asked the father to take the boy back because she could not control him. The father went to fetch him, but the boy escaped when they were on their way to the father 's village near Takoradi. The next thing the father heard about him was the reportfrom the Police stating that K . had been arrested for stealing the sum of zs. 5d. at TakoraQi. The neighbours reported that the father had been careless about K. s upbringing, and had not exercised the necessary care and control over the boy, because he was influenced by the custom that the boy belonged to the mother's lineage (abusua) and not to his. Three other boys in the Sample similarly drifted into crime owing to the lack of parental care and supervision resulting from the separation of their parents. In such cases, it would appear. that the emotional insecurity and instability resulting from the changes in the domestic atmosphere were strong predisposing causes to delinquency. Occupational Structure as Contributory Factor J In a few instances, the occupational structure contributes 1(0 the weakness of parental control. The men are away at work, and as one parent complained, "I seldom see my children. I go SOCIAL FAILURES: I.-JUVENILE DELINQUENCY 87 away in the morning before they are up, and they are some- times asleep when I come home. I have little part in their training. " . Included in the Sample of thirty-four cases is T., aged 9, brought before the Court for being "exposed tp moral and physical danger." T.'s parents are Liberians, but they have been resident in the Gold Coast for many years. T. was born in 1939 at Prestea. His father was then a bar-attendant at the European Club. They have seven children, but only two are at present staying with the parents. They live at Takoradi, but the father works at a. European Club in Sekondi. The nature of the father' s occupation is such that he is away from home for most part of the day, and also part of the night. With only the mother at home, T. took things easy. When the father was home he played the" good boy," because he had a special dread of him. T. has been out of control for the past four or five months. He has not attended school, and with the father away at work, it has been easy for him to go his own way. He has boarded a train by himself and travelled to and from Tarkwa; he hires bicycles for joy rides and on one occasion he fell off one into a gutter; he frequents Cinema Halls, and moves with boys much older than himself. He was fortunately fescued before he committed any crime. In similar circumstances, Q., aged 15, was also brought before the Court for being" exposed to moral and physical danger." Q. , whose father was dead, lived in Sekondi with his uncle. His work at school was good. In the middle of last year; his attendance at school became irregular. His uncle could not check this as he was a locomotive driver, and was often away from Sekondi. Q. complained that his uncle's wife did not give him enough food when his uncle was away. While his uncle was away in Kumasi in June last year, he bolted away, and was . eventually caught at Bibiani and brought back. He continued \ --,- . being irregular at school and used to spend his time roaming~ about, until he was put before the Juvenile Court. The Court committed him to the care of his grand-mother at Cape Coast, where a new school was found for him. The problem of exercising parental supervision over the ~ adolescent child in this area is growing, and is serious in the cases where the father is away at work all day, and the mother also, ·as is not uncommon, is out selling in the market. This is one of the factors contributing to the breakdown of parental discipline, and to juvenile delinquency. . .. .J 88 SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI-TAKORADI J Repudiation of Paternal R esponsibility More serious than the influence of working hours and con- ditions is the repudiation -of responsibility by some fathers for the upbringing of their children-. This often happens in the case of " children born out of wedlock, or on the ,dissolution of a marriage, and is one reason why so many children are found living with their mothers alone or with their mothers' relations. Six of the juvenile delinquents in our Sample of thirty-four were juveniles for whose training and upbringing the fathers had repudiated responsibility. This practice is prevalent because "1 of !he system of matrilineal inheritance, and the consequent derivation of one's status and jural and property rights in society l through one's matrilineal kinsmen. The practice strengthens the bond with one's maternal relations, and correspondingly weakens agnatic ties. ..-J R . aged 9, brought before the J ~nile Court for stealing, was born in Sekondi.\'7hen he was four years old, his parents separated, and at the Essikado Native Authority Court, the father formally disowned the boy and his older sister, who was then 13. The mother, a fishmonger, went to live at Shama, where she put R. to school. Two years later, the mother became ill, and moved to Sekondi for medical treatment. She has not yet quite recovered, but manages, however, to buy and sell fish. R. helps in the selling, and they live on what little profit they make. Conse- quently, the mother has not been able to help him to continue his schooling . When there is no fish to sell, he roams about Essikado with" street boys," and sometimes he goes to Takoradi. It was on one of these outings to Takoradi that he stole the sum of I IS. , which led to his arrest. He was committed to the care of his uncle (mother's brother), who took him to a more congenial environment at Bibiani to continue his schooling. Z ., aged 12, was born in Cape Coast . . His 'mother had three other children besides himself. His father, a fitter, had three other wives besides his mother. Owing to frequent quarrels, the mother left Cape Coast and came to stay in Sekondi leaving Z. and one of his sisters with the father. The children had an unhappy time with their half-brothers and step-mothers. The father put the boy to a cheap private school which closed down , in a short time, and he was left to roam about, sometimes w~thout . any clothes 'on. Z. came to Sekondi to live with the mother who, being a housemaid, found it difficult to look after her children. He stole £6 from th,e mother's employer, and was eventually put ". before the Juvenile Court. The father was sent for, but he would OCtAL FAILURES: l.-]UVENlLE DELINQUENCY ' not come until the Court caused a Summons to be served on him. When the Court ordered him to contribute 30S. a month towardsl his son's training at the Boys' Industrial School at Swedru, he refused saying" Onyim de ne marne nye n'abusua ntsir na waba no ho." "He knows that he belongs to his mother's lineage (lit. his mother is his lineage) and that is why he has come to her." He was refusing to pay on the ground that the boy did not belong to his lineage, though he was a man in fairly good circumstances,J L. a girl of nine was put before the Court for" being exposed to moral and physical danger." Shortly after her birth, the parents quarrelled, and their marriage was subsequently dissolved. The father disowned the child and has since had nothing to do with her. L.'s mother ·died four years ago when the girl was five, and the mother's younger sister who lives at Takoradi took charge of her. In this home she has been very unhappy as she appears to have been harshly treated and frequently punished. She was sent to buy some rice from the market one day. When she was returning home she slipped and fell, spilling the rice. Fearing punishment, she set off to walk 16 miles to Beposo where her grandmother lived. The police found her on her way there, and brought her back. The gravest example of this type was the case of P. , a girl just under 16 years of age, convicted for the murder of her four- -month-old baby. I t is her history rather than the crime with which we are here concerned. P. was born in D unkwa of Fa'hti parents. Her mother died when she was barely two years old. The father ceased to take any further interest in the child, and P. has no recollection of him, although he is alive. H er guardian since her mother's death has been her mother's cousin who is therefore an aunt to her. The aunt took her to Cape Coast, but she herself did not stay long with P. who remembers living at Cape Coast with another woman from whom her aunt-guardian had borrowed the sum of £2 lOS. She" served" this woman for about five years on' account of this debt, and remembers being frequently teased by the other , children in the house because she was only a pawn. In Court her aunt-guardian confirmed that P. had liv;:ed with another woman, but denied the financial transaction. In 1945, the aunt-guardlan came to live in Takoradi, bringing P. with her. The aunt soon found employment for her as nursemaid to a Syrian family. In return for looking after the babies, she received free boarding and lodging and a daily wage of sixpence. The aunt regularly collected the wages for herself. SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI-TAKORADI • P. lived with the Syrian family for 22 months, before she was sent back to her aunt. In less than two months, the aunt found her work again as nursemaid to a midwife in whose employment she remained for over a year, before she returned to her aunt. In her aunt's home, she found she was unwanted. The treatment she received was harsh and cruel, especially when the aunt discovered that P. was expecting a baby. P. spent three weeks in hospital, but she was never visited by her aunt, and although she had other relations in Sekondi, it was a stranger who saw her in hospital that paid her hospital fee. P. has never had a normal home life. Both parental affection and control have been denied her. Her father has not taken any interest in her, and her aunt~guardian has regarded her as a burdensome charge of which she has tried to get rid as much as possible. Such instances of neglect due to fathers refusing to accept responsibility are not uncommon. The Chief of Anoe who has had considerable experience in settling matrimonial cases in this area was emphatic that this was the most potent cause of juvenile delinquency. His verdict was independently confirmed by the Head Okyeame (Spokesman) of Dutch Sekondi, another man who has also had wide experience in settling matrimonial disputes. They both expressed the opinion that the Native Authorities be empowered to compel fathers to accept responsibility for their children in cases where paternity is not in doubt. Shirking M~ternal R esponsibility The above practice has its counterpart in mothers sending . their children away to live with other relations. It was found1 .- that literate women who had babies born out of wedlock often .~ sent the children away to be looked after by other relatives.·, .. Many children were living with their grandmothers for thi~­ reason. There were two examples of this in the Sample. There was the case of E., a Ga boy of I3 brought before the- Court because he was found "wandering, with no settled place of abode." His mother was barely I6 and a schoolgirl when he was born. The father disclaimed all responsibility, and so his mother's father named the child, and performed all the other necessary rites. Their home is at Christianborg, Accra. When the boy was 6 years old, his grandfather put him to school. _ Subsequently, the mother was mJtrried, and went to sa~IAL FAILURES: I.-JUVENILE DELINQUENCY 91 live with her husband in Accra. As she did not want to have E. with her, she sent him to an uncle in Sekondi. The uncle's work entailed a lot of travelling, and so E. could not attend school regularly. He was taken to another uncle in Saltpond, but twice he ran away to Christianborg to his mother. He was thrashed and sent back to his uncle each time; then he ran away a third time to Sekondi to look for and stay with a distant aunt, though he would have preferred to live with his own mother. It .was while he was " wandering about with no settled place of abode" that the police arrested him, and put him before the juvenile court. The second case of a similar nature was that of B., a boy of 13, who was also found" wandering with no settled place of abode." His father and mother came from Half-Assini to settle in Sekondi where his father found work. Three years later, the father died. The mother returned to her home in Half-Assini, where B. was looked after by his uncle. The mother married again, but would not have her child with her in her new home and left him with his uncle. In 1940' the uncle came to live in Sekondi, bringing the boy with him. He was put to school, where he made steady progress. After four years, the uncle returned to Half-Assini, and left B. in the care of a friend. The new guardian was unable to pay for the boy's schooling and so he had to stay at home. Thus left idle, B. used to visit Takoradi where he wandered about J with the" street boys." Children Sent Awqy from Parents The above por-nt to another factor in juvenile delinquency: the sending of children away from their parents to other homes. Six of the children in our Sample had been committed to the care of foster-parents who had not made their homes happy enough for the children, or had been unable to exercise the . necessary supervision. This committal to the care of foster- parents is sometimes necessitated by the death of a parent, or because the children are unwanted, or so as to enable the child . to continue school in a larger town. But the practice of sending children away to live with relatives and friends is neither new nor uncommon, and in the old days it was a way of ensuring that children received proper discipline and training from respected members of the community and were not spoilt by over-fond parents. It was also a way in which members of the extended family shared the responsibility for training their younger relatives. G 9~ SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI-TAKORADI There was N. aged 15 who came before the Court for stealing. The boy's parents are Nigerians, but N. was born at Fosu where his father was a timber contractor. llis mother died a month after his birth, and the father committed him to the care of a compatriot and his wife in Sekondi. At the age of 5, he was sent to school, but even at that early age, the father received complaints about N.'s bad behaviour. The guardians returned to Nigeria shortly after this, and the father found N. another guardian who transferred him to another school in Sekondi. But the guardian did not seem to have been able to exercise proper supervision over the boy. He slept out for days together, stayed away from school, often stole from the market and from neighbouring houses, and he was already a practised thief at 15 when he was brought before the· Court for stealing, and was sent to the Boys' Industrial . Institution at Accra. c., eleven years old, was .brought before the Court for" wander- ing and having no settled place of abode." llis father died when he was very young, and his father's relatives removed him fro II1 his mother at Bekwai, and took him to Nsawam where he lived with his father's sister. When he was old enough, he was put . to school there. But he was very unhappy with his aunt, and eventually he ran away to Takoradi where he wa~ arrested for wandering and therefore being exposed to moral and physical danger. The Court committed him to the care of his step-father. D., aged 15, had been living with his mother at Aboso, and all seemed to be going well. llis brother who is working in Sekondi desiring to help with his training, brought him to Sekondi and put him to another school. The brother was unmarried, and as he left home to go to work early in the morning, and did not return till night, there was no one to exercise parental control over the boy. He made friends with boys of questionable character, and stayed away from school. llis brother turned him out of his house, but did not return him to the mother; so D. went to Takoradi to stay with a cousin-in-Iaw, and sent a message to his mother to come and fetch him. It was while he was waiting for t,he mother to come from Aboso that he stole the sum of £3. The Court committed him to the care of the mother. These examples indicate that the practice of assigning the training of one's children to other relatives is apt to fai}. under the new and tempting conditions of urban life. It is not that the children become delinquents because they are sent away to guardians or other relations. The type of control exercised by parents or guardians is more important than their relationship to SOCIAL FAILURES : I.-JUVENILE DELINQUENCY 93 the child. The control has sometimes been inadequate in the At 'town where supervision of the adolescent child is difficult, and .... ~ where the opportunities and attractions for truancy are many. iJreakdown of the Extended FamilY System Other instances in the Sample and some of those already cited; indicate the breakdown of the practice of joint responsibility exercised Dy the extended family for the up6ringing of younger relations. .J There were three examples of this in the Sample. F., aged 13, was found sleeping in the Palladium Cinema Hall, and was brought before the Court by the Police for" being exposed to physical and moral danger." He was born at lZisi, 26 miles from Sekondi. His father died.when he was about four years old. A~year-.Iater his mother married again. . The sewnd husband had another home in Apowa (4 miles from Takoradi) and the mother often went to live there. During these visits F . remained at Kisi with his father's brothers and sisters, but none of them accepted direct responsibility for him. So he was left to himself without proper supervision. When he was old enough, one of the uncles put him to school at IZisi. In 1945, he went to live with another uncle in Shama. He made little progress at school, and his uncle returned him to lZisi, where he was left to do as he pleased. F. eventually ran away from Kisi and came to Sekondi. Neither his mother nor any of the near relatives observed his absence from Kisi, nor did anyone make enquiries as to his whereabouts during the ten months that he was away, prowling the streets of Sekondi and sleeping at the Palladium Cinema Hall. T he .boy showed no criminal , inclinations. ; he had just suffered from neglect and lack of parental control. The Court sent him to the Boys' Industrial School at · Sweruu. The two other boys found "wandering with no' settled place of abode" had been similarly neglected by their relatives . G., aged 12, born in Bekwai, had lost both his parents when he was young. His aunt looked after him, and put him to school. When he got into the Junior School, the aunt found it difficult to bear the expenses of his education, and G . had to stop attending school. A soldier promised to look after him, and brought him to Takoradi. This soldier was a Nigerian who soon left for his home, leaving G. to wander about Takoradi and fend for himself as best he could. The Court found him a "Fit person " to look after him and put him to school. A monthly contribution G2 94 SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI-TAKORADI towards his upbringing was to be made from the General Revenue of the Gold Coast_ As stated above, this class of case shows the joint responsi- bility of the extended family system breaking down, so that the children of dead relatives are, in some instances, being neglected because the successor is not fulfilling his customary obligations. The reason for this is partly economic. It is more expensive to train children nowadays. In the old subsistence economy, young boys and girls were additional hands on the farm; now they are consuming units, and if put to school, a burdensome charge on income. In part, too, it is due to the general decline in _ religious belief which was the sanction of morality and the fulfilment of social obligations within the community. \'.V'hen the mother's or father's influence was · absent, grandpare:nts, - sisters, uncles, aunts, or other members oL0e extended family stepped into the breach and usually with ~uccess. Fear of punishment by the spirits of dead relations was a potent sanction for the proper care of their children by their surviving kinsmen. This fear has largely declined, and no effective, operative sanction has yet taken its place. Children 7vith no Social Ties \ There were four cases of children from dis tant places: two from Nigeria, one. from the French Ivory Coast! ariel QneJrQ!!l .~he French side of the Northern Ter~itdl:ies . . These boys had no relations in Sekondi-Takoradi, and no one to supervise or restrain them. J., aged 15, charged with stealing on~ fowl, accompanied his older brother from their home in Nigeri~ 4. years ago to Ta·koradi, where they were engaged in selling mea~. The older brother left for Nigeria in June last year, promising to return in a month or two. Left unemployed, and with no one to look after him, J. befriended some of the idle boys at Takoradi, and thus drifted into crime. I ., also 15 years old, has a similar history. Two years ago, he came from the Northern Territories with his mother. His father had died, and the family had nothing to live on. They came as far south as Kumasi, but shortly returned home. A few months later, 1. ventured again across the border, this time coming alone. At Kumasi, he found a job as a steward boy, but he was soori dismissed. Then he came further south, and stayed first at Bekwai, then at Obuasi. It was during a short visit to Sekondi that he assaulted a Police Offic€r anc;! was brought before the Court. SOCIAL FAILURES: I.-JUVENILE DELINQUENCY 95 ,, ~ The Exceptional Case There are cases of this nature, and other cases such as have been quoted above which can be accounted for by scant parental attention or neglect, or bad environmental influences. Though these account for the ma~ity of cases, they do not account for them all. Among the thirty-four delinquents, for example, there were two who came from homes where parental discipline appeared to have been satisfactory. There was H., aged II, brought before the Court for being exposed to moral and physical danger. He was born in Cape Coast, one of three children. He was put to school when he was six, and is said to have started well. Two years later, it was noticed that he was coming home late from school, and exhibiting signs of vagrancy and crime. On a few occasions he was caught in the act of stealing .. Later, he started finding- _ faults with his school and his teachers. His f-ather removed him- to another school, but his attendanc~s continued irregular-: • Two other schools were later found for him, but ne would not take any advantage of them. At his own request, his father appren- ticed him to a blacksmith in Cape Coast. He worked for less than two· months and refused to continue. H e has since been plying between Cape Coast and Takoradi, associating with friends of questionable character. I t was at T akoradi that the police arrested .him. His brother and sister are in very good schools and doing well, but in spite of his parents' efforts, H . had not done well. The Court ordered him to be detained at the Boys' Industrial School. A similar case was that of M., aged 15, who in spite of the efforts of his parents, and a good start at school, ran away to Takoradi and associated with boys of questionable character. He was arrested for stealing, and sent to the Industrial Institution. These cases could probably be explained by the study of their psychological aspects which could not form part of a general Survey of the type we are doing. Although the Sample of thirty-four cases is small, it has afforded examples of the different circumstances and conditions under which juvenile delinquents in the Municipality are found. For every juvenile delinquent who is put before the Court, there are probably four who are not apprehended. In Takoradi there are juveniles who live openly as "Pilot Boys" or " Street Boys." A study of juvenile delinquency in the area would be incomplete without an account of them. SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI-TAKORADI Case histories have been collected covering many of these " Pilot Boys," and the evidence will now be briefly examined here as it throws further light on juvenile delinquency in the Municipality. Pilot Bqys In the course of the Survey, we came in contact with 150 of these pilot boys. Most of them lived in Takoradi, but there were some who had their base in Sekondi. . They are virtual or potential delinquents fending for them-=-' selves by stealing, gambling, acting as guides to sight-seers, or directing European sailors and soldiers to prostitutes. Many of them have "no settled place of abode" and sleep in market..J stalls, on lorries or on verandahs. A large number of them joined the pilot boys during the war. There were many soldiers and sailors about and th~y could -earn anything from two to twenty shillings a day by "piloting." them. They appear to have been greatly impressea with the American soldiers, for many of them attempt to copy their mannerisms and dress. This imitation is very conspicuous, and may be observed any day at the" Love All Canteen" at Takoracli where the boys meet to drink and smoke. The American soldiers were their best paying patrons, and that in part explains. the attraction. Gangs of these pilot bGYs used to stand around the harbour) and when ships called they offered to take sailors and passengers round the town. They guided them to the shops, restaurants, and principally to the bars (pubs) where they could buy drinks. Those who wished were led to the prostitutes. Some of the pilot boys are in league with particular prostitutes to whom they " pilot" customers. A pilot boy gets 8s. out of every 20~:.J that the prostitute earns through his efforts. \ There are gangs of pilot boys still operating in Sekondi and Takoradi. They roam about the streets and markets; and are reputed to be clever pickpockets and practised thieves. They steal from sailors and soldiers after the latter have got themselves drunk at the pubs to which they are " piloted." They also steal from market stalls and shops. W hen no ships cali, and "trade is bad," they sometimes find work at the harbour unloading manganese. The younger ones prowl about the Railway Stations, tennis courts, and golf courses in the hope of earning a few pennies. Sometimes they go in · gangs to tl'te neighbouring villages to SOCIAL FAILURES: I.-JUVENILE DELINQUENCY 97 plunder, or to recruit i=ocent and credulous boys fpr their ranks,l by telling them alluring stories of their lucrative and adventurous life. Some of these boys are sometimes successfully persuaded to steal money from their parents or neighbours, and then they run away to join the gangs of pilot boys. J A boy of eight was recently persuaded by one of these pilot boys to steal £70 from his father. The small boy himself received only £3 of this money. This case was reported to the police. In the course of the Survey, a number of pilot boys confessed that their careers had begun in this way with their stealing money from their parents or guardians. The gangs they joined at Takoradi soon helped them to squander the money. In the day time these pilot boys may be seen prowling about the markets or the harbour, riding bicycles, gambling in groups, or sitting in pubs drinking and smoking. They roam about the streets till late at night, and they sleep in the market or in lorries or on verandahs. We once found a group of 20 of them at Takoradi sleeping in a derelict lorry which they had mack their" home." The case histories show that the boys embarked on this sort! of life for different reasons: the persuasion of other boys, flight , from an unhappy home, the love of adventure, the hope of quick -gains, the attraction of an easy life; but a most prominent and conspicuous cause was again the lack of parental control, or thej. neglect 9f parents. A few instances may be given here to illustrate the background of these boys. It will be observed that the facts corroborate those already learnt from the examination of the case histories of the delinquents who appeared before the Juvenile Court. N., aged 13, was born at Konongo where he lived with his father and step-mother. His father was transferred to Sekondi in 1946, and he brought his boy with him. No vacancy could be found for the boy in the local schools, so he had to remain at home. N. reported that at this time he did not have enough to eat at home. Shortly after his arrival in Sekondi, a pilot boy made friends with him. He subsequently joined his friend's gang, and he now lives at Takoradi. He seldom sees his father. U., aged 16, has a similar his tory. He was born in Kumasi where he lived with his parents. His father lost his jqb, so they moved to Sekondi. It was not possible for U. to continue at school immediately, as no place was found for him in any of the local schools. There were some pilot boys staying quite close to them. These boys told him how easy it was to obtain money 98 SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI-TAKORADI as a pilot boy. He joined their gang, and his father's efforts to get him back to school have been unsuccessful. These instances are typical of boys who come into the Municipality from other places. They were forced to be idle owing to the break in their schooling, and the comradeship and the hope of gain which pilot boys of their own age offered them proved very strong attractions. Some of the boys had become pilot boys after the death of a parent, especially, in cases in which the fami ly became poor, or the boy became neglected as a result of the death. V., aged 18, was at school in Standard 5 when his father died. His mother had not enough money to pay for his schooling, so he had to discontinue. He was apprenticed' to a lorry driver. While in the service of the driver, he stole and sold some lorry parts. When this was found out, he was dismissed. He then joined a gang of pilot boys, and the gang appears to have specialized in stealing and selling lorry parts. W., aged 17, was born at Apowa, 4 miles from Takoradi. He has never been to school. His mother died when he was ten years old, and his father took care of him. The father ,vas a labourer, employed at Takoradi Harbour. In 1946, he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for stealing. W. had no one to look after him, and so he joined a gang of pilot boys. X., aged 16, still at school, is in Standard 5. His father died two years ago. His mother is finding it difficult to pay for his schooling, and has advised him to try and earn some money. He has accordingly joined a gang of pilot boys, and gives what- ever money he earns to his mother. His gang pilots Europeans to prostitutes, or to pubs. Sometimes he accompanies the gang to the market stalls where they steal from the wornep. Many of the boys told similar stories, and in the majority of the cases in which it was possible to check up, what they told of their background was substantially correct. It should be recorded, because it throws light on the nature of the problem, that these boys talked freely of their thefts and other desperate acts, almost glorying in them, and very often without any visible sense of guilt or shame. A number of the boys had become so isolated that they could not say where their parents or any relatives were. T ypical of these were: Y., aged 16, a Fanti, born in Cape Coast. He did not know where his parents were. He had come to Sekondi in 1944 as a lorry driver's mate. He did not earn any money as an apprentice, so he -joined the pilot boys who were earning plenty of money SOCIAL FAILURES: I.-JUVENILE DELINQUENC~ 99 by taking European soldiers and sailors round. He now lives with his g~t Takoradi. A., aged 17, has no recollection of his parents. He lived with one Mr. O. in Sekondi from his childhood. He has never been to school, and was never happy at home where he was always severely punished for the slightest offence. One day, a pilot boy persuaded him to join his gang. He did so, and has now lived in Takoradi for 3 years, but neither Mr. O. nor anybody has enquired after him or taken any interest in him. Behind these and similar case histories lie the breakdown of the joint responsibility of the extended family system to which allusion has already been made. Further examples of this are: pp; aged 16, who became a pilot boy in 1946, after his father's death. Until then, he had attended school regularly. After his father's death, his mother noticed that the boy grew insolent and defiant, associated with boys of questionable character, 'and pilfered things from the house. None of the boy's father's male relatives, or his mother's, would take him in their home and exercise the necessary supervision over him. PP. subsequently left home altogether and joined the pilot boys. AA., aged 17, was born at Swedru where he lived with his father and mother for eight years. His father was then transferred to Sekondi where he continued to live with his parents. His father died in 1945, and his mother died the following year. For 2t years after this, he lived with his mother's sister at Takoradi, and continued to attend school, but he was unhappy with his aunt. He complained that the food given him was insufficient, his clothes were worn out, and his school fees always in arrears. The aunt said she could do no more than she was doing, as other members of the family at Swedru were not helping. The boy subsequently joined himself to a gang of pilot boys. Also amongst the pilot boys were boys from distant places such as Nigeria and Liberia, who had no relations of any sort in the Gold Coast. There was Cc., aged 17, who said he came to Takoradi from Nigeria as a stowaway because he heard in Nigeria that the pilot boys at Takoradi made plenty of money. When he got to Takoradi, he found some pilot boys who admitted him into their gang, and he has since remained with them. They have no settled home, and sleep wherever they can, usually in the market place. Cc. went to school in Nigeria, but stopped when he reached Standard 2. DD., aged 16, was brought to Takoradi from the Northern 100 SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDl-TAKORADI Territories in 1945 by his father with whom he lived in Takoradi for a year. His father worked as a labourer at the harbour. One day, he went to work and never came back. DD. has not heard of his father since; as he had no relations in Takoradi, he joined the pilot boys who offered him companionship. These pilot boys are strongly attached to one another. Though there is much rivalry and jealousy among the separate gangs, within the gangs there is intense loyalty and confraternity. Typical of the gangs was one of six led by Y., a boy of 19. The members were A., aged 16, B., aged 15, c., aged 17, D ., aged 18, and E., aged 12 (ages estimated). They always move about in a group whether they go to the harbour to find work, or to the market, or to the shops. At nights, they sleep together, in order as they explained, to protect themselves from other gangs; for pilot boys steal from one another. Whatever money this gang makes, is divided equally among the members. To these boys, theft and delinquency offer adventure and liveli- hood, and their delinquent companions, a comradeship that compensates for the neglect which many of them suffer at home. Having brieRy surveyed the lives of the juvenile delinquents who were apprehended, and of the many potential ones who have been left by society to take care of themselves, we will next survey the methods so far adopted for dealing with juvenile delinquency in the Municipality. '----. Treatment of Juvenile Delinquenry Such steps as have been taken to deal with juvenile delin- quency have been taken by Government. There are two Probation Officers in Sekondi, and a Juvenile Court has been sitting here since August 1947. The methods adopted for dealing with }uvenile ' delinquents may be seen from Table III of Appendix VIla giving details of action taken in the Court cases: They included whipping, placing under the direct supervision of a Probation Officer, committal to the caFe of a relative or Fit Person and the super: vision of a Probation Officer, residence at the Probation Home at Accra, attendance at the Boys' Industrial School at Agona- Swedru, or His Majesty's Industrial Institution at Maamobi, Accra: It is at the Industrial School and the Institution that the boys receive training directed at rebuilding their characters and fitting them for citizenship in the community. The School at Swedru has magnificent buildings and a large estate. SOCIAL FAILURES: 1.-JUVENILE DELINQUENCY 101 On arrival there a boy is issued with the following outfit of clothing :- 2 pairs Khaki Shorts 2 "Shirts I pair ViThite Shorts " Shirt "PT. Shorts I " Night Slacks " Shirt Towel (Bathing) Comb, Tooth Brush, Belt and Pillow (I each) 2 Blankets I Trestle Bed and Mosquito Net I Locker. Three regular meals a day are provided in a spacious dining hall, and each boy has his separate plate, mug, and spoon. As most of the 130 boys in residence came from poor or insanitary homes, or _had been neglected, or had been but lately sleeping in the streets, the amenities of the Sch0ol'"represent a very considerable rise in standards. F.(om 5· 45 a.m. when the rising bell goes till 8.45 p .m. when the lights go outLthe boys go through a regular and plarured routine. _T here are special times for physical training and games, baths, and meals; and for work in the classrooms and work- shops and on the farm. Emphasis is being laid on farm work. Each boy, as far as possible, is taught a trade to fit him for some particular employment or apprenticeship when he leaves the School. At present th€l trades catered for are carpentry, tailoring, leatherwork and agriculture. Building and bootmaking have recently been added. Weaving, pottery and basket-making are taught as flObbies. The boys receive pocket money which averages about I S. 6d. a month . They are encouraged to save, but a canteen is available for them to buy what they wish. T he School is run on the " house " system, each house being under the supervision of a housemaster. There are friendly inter-house competitions in work and play. .' Boys may be discharged at the discretion of the Director of Social Welfare and Housing any time after six months, but the average time spent there is about three years. Each boy is " licensed" for a time so that he remains under supervision until he has made good in the outside world. For this purpose, an After Care Officer has recently been attached to the School. Where a parent is able, a Court Order is made requiring him to make a specified monthly contribution towards -the cost of 102 SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI-TAKORADI keeping his boy at the School. The maximum contribution Order made by the Courts is £3 . A recent account of the School in the" Gold Coast Bulletin," an Official Publication, concluded: "Were it not for the orange and grape-fruit trees, the red African earth and the lovely outlook over miles of forest and bush, the English visitor to Swedru might find himself thinking that here was a modern School in his own country. T he standard is in fact, that of the most-up-to-date Schools of the type in Britain, adapted, of course, to local ways of life." Judged by local conditions, and the social background of the inmates of the School, ,the adaptation has not been sufficiently realistic to allay the fears of the community. There has been public comment and misgiving about the grand buildings with which the School started, the generous allowance of clothing and equipment given to the boys, the privileges and opportunities accorded them, so remote from the previous home conditions of many of the boys, and far superior to any obtainable in any primary school in the country open to the non-delinquent boy. All this has appeared to set a premium on delinquency. The opinion has been expressed by many that the training given in such circumstances will make it difficult for the boys to adapt themselves to the conditions of life to which they will have to return. The After Care )Vork of the School is new, and 'not enough boys have yet left the School to provide evidence as to whether they do successfully adapt themselves or not. But the points raised deserve consideration in the planning of other schools of this type. It is essential that the training given at the schQol should be closely related to the life of the com- munity and the conditions to which the boys will eventually return, and it c~n be justifiably said that the present conditions leave room for a closer integration. The Industrial Institution His Majesty's Industrial Institution at Maamobi, six miles from Accra, is run by the Prisons Department. The juvenile delinquents sent there are the older ones, or those with criminal records that require sterner discipline than that given at the Industrial School. The buildings fl.t Maamobi were originally planned for a Leper Settlement, but the war broke out before they were completed, and the Military took them over and used them for the Signals Training Centre. SOCIAL FAILURES : 1.-JUVENILE DELINQUENCY 103 After the war, the Prisons Department acquired the settle/Ilent for use as a Borstal Institution. The buildings are being converted into Dormitories, Dining rooms, Recreation rooms, etc., largely by the boys themselves, and in this way some of them are receiving practical training in building construction. The Institution is organized on the House System. At present there are two Houses, Wilberforce (Red) and Howard (Yellow). Each House has four groups. Each group consists of twelve boys and occupies a Dormitory. Wilberforce House has the Sekondi, Kumasi, Axim and Elmina groups, and Howard has Accra, Keta, Tamale, and Ada. Each House has its separate Dining and Recreation rooms. As at Swedru, there is a keen inter-House competition in work and play. All members of the Institution belong to one of two stages- Brown or Blue. . A member of the Brown Stage is identified by braid bars of his House Colour (Red or Yellow) sewn on a white cloth back- ground, and worn on the left breast shirt pocket. He is not permitted to move about the Institution unless he is under the supervision of a leader or sub-leader, or an inmate of the Blue Stage. A member of the Blue Stage wears a circular badge, blue at the centre, with the House Colour (Red or Yellow) for a background: Each inmate is granted his first Brown Bar on reception. The second Brown Bar may be earned at the end of the. first quarter, and the third, at the end of the second quarter. On reaching the third Brown Bar Stage, an inmate may be promoted by the House Board to the Blue Stage after three months. T he H ouse Board meets monthly to consider the grant or delay of promotion of the inmates in accordance with their reports and records compiled by the various Officers of the Institution. The Board consists of the Superintendent (Chairman), the Keeper of the Institution, the After Care Agent, House Masters, and any other Institution Officer required to give an opinion : e.g., Trade Instructor, or Petty Officer. T he inmates are taught to govern themselves under leaders appointed from those who have reached the Blue Stage. The Offices so held are : Office Badge Institution Captain (r) Crown and St ar House Captain (2) Crown Leader (8) T wo Stars Sub·Leader (8) One Star 1 0 4 SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI-TAKORADI There is an earning scheme whereby an inmate may earn two shillings a month or more according to his proficiency at his trade. Each inmate has a money box in which his savings are kept. He may spend part of the money on certain articles and keep these in a cloth bag provided for the purpose. \'V'hen an inmate attains the Blue Stage, he is credited with a gratuity at the rate of sixpence or ninepence a month, at the discretion of the Superintendent. The total amount saved is handed to the inmate when he is released. Provision is made for educational classes, religious instruction, games, and the teaching of trades. For the various trades, Carpentry, Tailoring, Farming, the minimum and maximum numbers which each workshop may admit are fixed. All those who do not get into an establishment are placed in a Labour Pool, and perform various useful fobs. When a vacancy occurs in a "workshop, a notice to that effect is placed on the Notice Boards, and the inrriates submit applications to the Superintendent within a specified time. These applications are considered, _and the applicants interviewed before a selection is made to fill ths. vacancy. If a learner is found unsatisfactory, or asks to change his trade, he returns to the Pool and has to apply again when a vacancy occurs in another work:shop. The Institution Officers have Party Books in whith they keep a daily record of the work and conduct of each inmate. These Party Books provide the data for working mit the weekly group competition based on the work, conduct, cleanliness, and gemeral improvement of the various groups, and also for assessing an inmate's fitness for promotion'. Any alleged offence against the discipline of the Institution is investigated by the Superintendent who may award any of the following punishments; (a) Removal to the Penal Grade. (b) Deprivation of any qf "the following privileges for a period not exceedmg one month : Association, Playing games, Gratuit,y and(or Earnings. (c) Loss of Stage or Grade for'a peri0d not exceeding three months. (d) Confinement to a room for three days. (e) Restricted Diet for a period not exceeding six days. (f) Deprivation of mattress for a period not exceeding seven days. . " SOCIAL FAILURES: I.-JUVENILE DELINQUENCY 105 Visits and communications are allowed subject to certain restrictions. A Medical Officer of Health visits the Institution regularly. There is an Infirmary provided with twelve beds as well as an Isolation Ward, but serious cases are treated at the Korle Bu Hospital. An inmate becomes eligible for release on licence after he has served six months of his term of detention. The Discharges are considered by the Institution Board which meets monthly. It is constituted by: the Director of Prisons (Chairman), the Superintendent, the Keeper of the Institution, the Mter Care Agent, the House Masters, and any other Institution Officer whose opinion may be required. The Discharges are made in consultation with the Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society, and an Mter Care Agent has recently been appoiIl!ed to see to the welfare and employment of dis- charged inmates. Those going through the more rigorous dis- cipline of the Institution, with its less pretentious environment, are receiving a more realistic training for the kind of life to which they will return. CHAPTER V III SOCIAL FAILURES : II. - OTHER INDICES Town life is a new social development. The large size, the congestion, and the marked heterogeneity of the population have created an environment to which a satisfactory adjustment has not yet been made. Some of the facts which give 'evidence of failure in the function- ing of th.is large urban community may now be briefly reviewed. CrilJZe Criminal offences, being infractions of the rules and regulations made by the governing authorities, are a part of the evidence of social failure. The conditions of town life are such as to favour stealing, which comprises the biggest proportion of the offences com- m itted. Th.is is significant, for in a small place, for instance, it .J is not easy for one perso1il. to steal from anoth~r. The thief would have difficulty in using the stolen goods, or in disposing of them, as the actions of an individual are more likely to be observed in a small place, whereas he enjoys comparative ar;opy:- mity in-a large population. -../I! A case record was ~ompiled for a period of six months from October, 1947, to March, 1948, of all persons convicted of crime at the Magistrate's Court in Sekondi. This covered 376 con- victed persons. Sixty-two per cent. of the convictions were in respect of offences aga.ins t property: 165 for stealing, 13 for house-breaking, 15 for unlawful possession, 17 for being on other people's premises for" unlawful purposes," and 16 for fraud . . Details as to the age, religious belief, education and tribe of the convicted persons are tabulated in Appendix VIllA. The Table also gives similar details' of the recidivists among these convicted persons. The facts and statistics are suggestive, but as they relate to only one urban area, reliable conclusions as to urban conditions cannot be . justifiably deduced from the data. Comparative material from other urban centres would be required for this purpose. Burt: certain facts may be noted. Of the 376 convicted persons,. 106 SOCIAL FAILURES: n.-OTHER INDICES only 12 or 3' 2 % were women. Of the men, 256 or 70' 3 % were unmarried. This class also provided the 136 recidivists. Only 9.6 % of these recidivists belonged to the indigenous Ahanta tribe; 64'7 % came from other parts of the Gold Coast, and 25'7 % from outside the Colony. These facts would indicate that, given the economic hardships of town life, those with few social responsibilities, and fe-wer I cO!1!lectiens"Wit:n:::S:'"ucietJ" are the more prone to break laws and- &fy customs, since their state of rela-we-s('ycta-J:- isolatlOn puts fewer restraints on their impulses. ' The number of such persons is large in a heterogeneous urban area like Sekondi-Takoradi. It would be observed that many of the criminals are immigran!§ whose social isolation is due to the fact that they do not beIong---tQ-th~ indigenous community. Many of them, especially 'of the unskilled labour class tend to' be single,~£acilitates mQbility. -- , TFlere is also the fact of age. Most of the criminals are~ men between the ages of 18 and 30. Of recidivists, for example, 58 -·i-%~thin this age group, and if the age group were extended! to 40, it would coy.er('91·2 % of the recidivists. T he former period, 18 to 30-; happens to be the time when many young men are still unmarried~ - The h.ig;h cost Q[Jiying in the town, and the- uncertaint j! ~nd insecurityor-empToyment are important factors in t1i1S!egard. The general explanation of social isolation is still applicable, because unmarried young people are not sub- jected to the same close pressure of fulfilling their family and social obligatio(ls as are the older m;!rried people; . Collapse of Sexual Morality I Among the indices of ~ to urban life. is the collapse of sexual morality. The data on that also ,supports the general explanation of economic pressure and social isolation as important factors predisposing to the infraction of law and custom. / The evidence of the collapse of sexual morality includes the frequency of pre-marital sexual relationships, as well as of divorces due to adultenes; but its most obvious index is the growing practIce oFprostitution,- favoured by the presence of a large unmarried male population, African, European, Indian and Syrian, and the regular visits of seamen. In the course of the Survey, information was collected from 127 known prostitutes residing in Sekondi and Takoradi. O nly nine of them were of the indigenous Ahanta tribe. Fifty-two H 108 SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDl-TAKORADI of them came from other parts of the Colony, principally, Cape Coast and Axim; fifty-five from Nigeria, and eleven from Liberia. There are many more prostitutes, but these figures give a fair indication of the tr\haUis.ttibution. ~titute carries on h~r tribe. . ~ ~tive evidence of this came from the prostitutes them- .,.. selves. Many of them said they had no ties with home, and had changed their names. They neither shared any family obligations, nor were wanted by their kinsmen. Some of 'them said their relatives did not even know where they were. T o make up for this, there is a strong comradeship amongst prostitutes, and their " Union » provides the security of a befitting funeral celebration and burial. Fifty of the 12 7 il1terviewed had been to school. T en of them had completed the Primary School Course, and the remaining forty had discontinued schooling at various stages between standards four and seven. Some of them discontinued schooling because they had babies -( while they were still at school ; others, because their parents were unable to pay for the cost of their schooling, or in some instances, even provide them with sufficient food and clothing . Some of the girls said they were driven to prostitution through sheer poverty. Their guardians could not provi~e them with food and clothing, and they had to leave home to fend for them- selves. Some prostitutes make their living by remaining mistresses to _/ Europeans who pay them a fixed salary every month. Nine in our sample lived with the E uropeans in their bungalows ; others lived in town and slept in the E uropean Quarter at night. But many of them have rented rooms, mostly at Takoradi, where pilot boys assist them to get " customers» amongst the seamen . Europeans are the better customers as they pay more than Africans. Prostitutes earn from £8 to £I5 a month, or more. A pilot boy usually, as stated, receives eight shillings out of evety £I he enables a prostitute to earn, and some pilot boys earn from £3 to £ 6 a month in this way. In some instances the pilot boys are provided with board and lodging by the prostitutes to whom they pilot seamen. l'\e ... U, 7 --7 Prostitutes wish to be thought well-to-do, and so they procure j . themselves many changes of dress and jewellery. Some of them have as many as 50 changes of dress. Several of them own buildings in the town. Prostitution was a particularly lucrative trade during the war when there were many troops quartered in Takoradi. SOCIAL FAILURES: n.-OTHER INDICES Public opinion regards this collapse of sexual morality as a very serious evil and disapproving comments are frequently passed upon pre-marital relations, adultery, frequent divorce, and prostitution. The more serious aspect is the prevalence of prostitution among schoolgirls, and pre-marital adventures among schoolboys as well as among youngsters of school age who do not go to school. Bribe,:; and Corruption Another index of maladjustment is the venality of many persons in the Public Services or in private employment. Bribery and corruption are rife and are freely admitted. It was not difficult to collect convincing evidence of corrupt practices in certain Government Departments, or Private Bodies engaging many employees. There is also the prevalence of black-marketing. Its practice is considerably increased in scale in the town by the fact · that so many of the people here make their money by buying and selling goods made elsewhere. Moreover, urban conditions such as unemployment, the higher ,cost of living, the larger supply of goods, as compared with rural areas, and the greater attraction that town-lite has for criminals tend to aggravate these practices. \ There are also many forms of gl),mbling practised especially by pilot boys, drivers' mates, casually employed, or unemployed people, quite openly in the streets, or well-known . houses, especially in Takoradi. All these praCtices are evidence of the unbridled acquisitiveness which is a marked response of the community to the opportunities presented by the new economic system. Prevalence of Q uarrelling and Fighting Other evidence of a maladj usted community is provided by .the frequent occurrence of fighting and quarrelling. This is, more rife in Takoradi than in Sekondi, as borne out by case records. It is a striking feature of a community with no social • }solidarity. Takoradi is a newer town, only started as recently as 1926; it has a more mixed population than Sekondi, and unlike Sekondi, it has no core of indigenous settlers with a tradition of tribal discipline and authority;. consequently, all the indices of maladjustment, such as stealing, burglary, fighting, HZ IIO SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI·TAKORADI quarrelling, prostitution, and gambling are more pronounced in Takoradi than in the older town of Sekondi. [I The quarrelling and fighting are indices of the lack of accepted ~standards of behaviour. In the homogeneous village community, there are known and 'accepted standards of conduct, and everyone knows how to behave to each member of the community. There are no such norms of behaviour in the town, especially in the new situations which are peculiar to town life. Such situations are those that telate to the social and business relations in Government and business offices, shops, markets, and other public places, and it is of such relations that the prevalent discourtesy is markedly noticeable. . Within associations where the members know one another, or where there are established norms of behaviour, the relation- 'ships are courteous, and the discourtesy which marks public relations is evidence of maladjustment to a new social situation. Unemployment and Destitution The ' existence of unemployment. which has already been alluded !. CHAPTER IX SEKONDI-TAKORADI SOCIAL SURVEY-A RETROSPECT In the preceding chapters, the significant aspects of the life of the town have been surveyed. Attention was focused on the African population which numbers 43,323 out of a total of 44,130. The non-Mrican population of 807, however, exert an influence in the political, economic, and social life of the town, far greater than their number would suggest, and the predominant influence they exercise, especially in the economic and political spheres, significantly conditions the activities of the much larger African population. \/' It is in the economic sphere that the most notable changes have been made. Principally, there is an increasing differentiation and specialization of' economic activity, and a rapid acceptance of; and adaptation to, the industrial products of Europe and America. Some of the changes that these have occasioned have been v'indicated: the growth of population, the decreasing importance of agriculture, the rise in the cost of living, the predominance of buying and selling, the earning wife, increase of salaried employ- ees and wage earners, and the emergence of a new type of sodal organization based on occupational associations and common economic interests. With this process of industrialization, new problems and hard- ships have emerged of which congestion and poor housing conditions, inadequate sanitary services, increase in crime, pauper- ism, malnutrition, unemployment, and destitution are indices. - Attention should also be called to the ambiguous patterns of l;>ehaviour which mark the new situation. New economic activities and opportunities have led to a growing capitalism and acquisitiveness; to individualism and a new class structure; but elements of the old class structure ' and old kinship obligations remain tenacious, and slacken the pace of change; within a mixed population there is an increasing number of inter-tribal marriages, but these are opposed by old tribal sentiments; old rites of marriage are adhered to, but the high cost is decried; old social values such as are connected with death or dress dictate conduct which in the new situation ' is II) II6 SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI-TAKORADI injudicious, since it leads to extravagance and debt ; similar ambiguous or even contradictory patterns of behaviour pervade other spheres of the life of the community. In married life, b'ecause of the high cost, some have to delay marriage; there are difficulties in the control and upbringing of children; and frequent separations and divorces. These and other indices of marital instability have been indicated, and, in particular, the effects of the enforcement or acceptance of new codes of monogamy and marital stability which conflict with old usages of polygamy and traditional family obligations have been discussed. With regard to training the young, it has been shown that many parents accept the responsibility for training their children, though a few repudiate the responsibility. For the community as a whole, it has been shown that the old ways of conditioning the child for adult life through participation in adult activities, principally within the extended family, have proved inadequate for the new situatiqn; whilst, the-new system of formal education through institutional training is not yet comprehensive enough, nor sufficiently integrated with the life of the community. The problems that the situation gives rise to, such as strained personal relationships, juvenile delinquency, post-school unemployment, have been outlined. In municipal government, new forms of authority backed by new sanctions have entered. The maintenance of law and order, the regulation of the life of the town, the provision of public services, and the exercise of authority, are vested in agents of the Central Government, the T own Council and the Native fA uthorities, and the powers and functions of each have been .stated. The analysis showed that whilst tribal associations also helped in the maintenance of law and order through the arbitra- tion of disputes, tribal loyalties at the same time hindered the development of municipal government, since many who were long reSident in the municipality did not accept full civic res- ponsibilities in the town, but considered themselves strangers, owing civic duties to their lineage town or village. This is another example of the ambiguous patterns of behaviour already noted. As to religious practices, the influence of the Christian Churches as social .and cultural agencies has been seen to be widespread, though another example of the contradictory patterns ~ of behaviour is provided by the persistence of old beliefs and practices side by side with the new teaching and practice of Christianity, as evidenced by the popularity of the Tigare Cult. SEKONDI~TAKORADI SOCIAL SURVEY-A RETROSPECT Il7 The urch is 0 ular as a social institution but ~hristian faith and ideals have not penetrated eep into th): lifs;, . The multiplicity of associations, religious, political, economic and social was found to be a significant feature in the development of town life, such associations being social agencies which bring together people having common aims or interests. The forces which have caused the social change, and have given rise to the specific problems of town life have been apparent in the analysis given in this and preceding chapters. The social problems of the town are indices of the change from a small, homogeneous, self-subsistent community to a large, heterogeneous, dependent community. . - The chief, though not the only cause of the change, is economic. It is the new economic activities, and the development of a complex economic system that have thrown other social institu- tions out of gear, and produced a disintegrated and maladjusted society. Prominent amongst the social institutions thrown out of gear is the extended family system which with its balance of reciproci- ties of rights and obligations, its wide network of relationships and activities, embracing the total life of the community, political, religious, economic and social, provided security and legal and moral sanctions of both private and public conduct in the old society. Its collapse. or inadequacy for the new situation has meant the weakening or, in some instances, the breakdown of the moral and legal sanctions of the community. T his fact came out repeatedly in discussing the problems of marriage, government, education, juvenile delinquency, unemployment and destitution. Another thing which has also stood out prominently in the analysis is the important part that cultural values play in social organization. The technology and material output of Europe and America have been quickly accepted, and to a less extent, their adminis- trative machinery ; but their ideas and social institutions have not been as rapidly accepted, and elements of the traditional .. culture and social organization persist side by side with, or in opposition to European ideas and values. This has given rise to, or heightened some of the problems that have been discussed. I t is the cultural values that dictate conduct such as we have noted regarding marriage, or dress or funerals ; that is, they are not immediately bound to the rudimentary demands for fooJ , shelter and bodily protection, but with the goals towards which , !I8 SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI-TAKORADI the people direct their desires and attitudes. These set the framework within which the individual learns to co-operate with his fellows, and define the ends in the pursuit of which a com- munity ~ 0 New Takoradi U pper 12 78 164 21 18 13 II 2 G: tJ Amanful-Takoradi 12 181 24'2 24 28 16 12 6 3 H Nkontompo 15 100 187 41 22 7 7 8 Anaafo 25 2II 547 42 52 34 25 16 8 5 2 - 2 - Total 193 1,454 3,025 4II 353 209 134 71 32 14 5 2 3 APPENDICES 133 APPENDIX I (f) HousE AI D WATER R ATE ASSESSMENTS-KETAN (i) Examples No. of Rooms Water Rate H ottse and Land Rate ---- £ ,s. d . £ s. d. Example 6 I 12 4 4 18 I 2 2 18 8 . Not available 3 12 6 2 3 18 10 4 2 7 2 3 6 3 5 15 8 I 18 6 6 2 0 4 2 8 9 7 I 10 7 2 4 8 6 18 2 2 3 8 ESS1AMAN (ii) Examples No . of Water R ate House and Land Rooms Rate £ s. d. £ s. d . Example 9 5 19 10 2 17 9 10 4 II II II II 8 6 6 ..5 18 0 12 8 14 4 2 16 2 13 4 8 3 5 9 14 3 II 8 I 15 II 15 5 15 0 2 6 0 16 4 9 4 8 5 NKONTOMPO (iii) Examples No . of H ouse a1~d La1~d Rooms Water Rate Rate £ s. d . £ s. d . Example 17 4 II 4 I 14 4 18 6 19 7 2 2 19 2 6 9 I 5 20 3 6 4 19 II 21 2 6 6 18 10 22 3 6 3 19 7 23 14 2 5 6 5 0 24 2 10 10 I 13 5 25 4 7 8 4 0 26 2 Not av ailable 5 II APPENDIX I (g) H '..".. CENSUS OF GOVERNMENT QUARTERS AND H OUSING ESTATES No. of No. of Persons using Quarters Rooms P eople P ersons Using Single Rooms more than One Room rn 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 2 3 4 ~ Police Quarters 57 2I4 4 8 20 I2 4 4 3 rn C >0 Prison 60 26 ~ 4 5 8 24 I2 7 2 - - - - - >-< 0 >-rl Matrons' 4 II 2 - - - - - - - - - - - rn tI1 ~ 0 Hospital 2 II - - - - - - - - 5 Z tl Clerks' - - - - ~ - - - - - - - 2 - ~ 0 s: Adiembra .. 66 I99 23 I3 I :S- 9 6 6 - - - - 9 tl H Effia Kuma 68 195 I8 II I6 IO 4 4 2 - 6 7 Total 257 894 45 39 56 57 26 2I 8 4 2 22 7 APPENDICES APPEN DIX I (h) FAMILIES L IVING IN SINGLE R OOMS, GOVERNMENT QUARTERS AND H OUSING ESTATES House No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Police Quarters .. - 8 19 II 4 4 3 Prison 4 7 24 12 7 2 Matrons' Adiembra 5 9 9 5 6 Effia Kuma 8 16 10 4 4 2 Total. . 25 51 55 25 21 7 4 2 APP E DIX I (i) NUMBER OF PERSONS LIVING IN SINGLE ROOMS, GOVERNMENT QUARTERS AND HOUSING ESTATES House No . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Hosp ital P olice Qu arters 4 8 20 12 4 4 3 Prison 5 8 24 12 7 2 Matron s ' 2 Adiembra 23 13 II 9 6 6 Effia Kuma 18 II 16 10 4 4 2 - Tot al 45 39 56 57 26 21 7 4 2 SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI-TAKORADI APPENDIX II(a) ,;VAGE R ATES-COMMERCIAL FIRMS, ETC., AS PER R ETURNS FOR D ECEMBER, 1 9 47 111 onthly Salaries being Paid Occupation Ranged From T o £ s. d. £ s. d. Accounts Clerks 3 10 0 35 0 0 Apprentices Assistants and Mates I 6 0 7 7 6 Blacksmi tbs 3 1 0 0 1 0 2 6 Book-keepers 3' 1 0 0 19 o 0 Carpenters .' 15 0 9 o 0 Cashiers 1 0 0 27 8 Clerks 200 II 1 0 0 Comptometer Opera tors 400 10 0 0 Cooks . . 2 IS 0 4 10 0 Dispensers 600 10 15 0 Draugbtsmen 8 0 0 18 8 6 Drivers 3 0 II 0 0 Electricians o 0 1 2 7 6 Fitters 15 0 16 0 0 Graders II 0 4 10 0 Labourers 200 6 15 0 Latrine Boys 3 17 6 l\'[asons 5 15 0 7 10 0 Mechanics 250 10 0 0 IVlessengers 250 4 10 0 Painters 4 17 6 650 Porters 3 18 0 Printers 3 4 10 0 0 Riggers 4 5 0 Salesmen 2 10 0 760 Sawyers and Trimmers 700 Scale Clerks 434 900 Sbortband Typists 3 10 6 1 8 0 0 Stewards 200 3 1 5 0 Storekeepers .. 3 0 0 25 0 0 Tailors 3 10 0 Telepbone Operators 6 0 0 Time Keepers 3 7 6 17 6 Turners 7 10 0 vVarehousemen 3 1 0 0 25 0 0 ' ''ashermen 15 0 480 Watcbmen . . I 0 0 600 Welders 476 976 Wood Macbinist 4 17 6 6 r7 6 Native Administration Bailiffs 400 Market Collectors .\ 4 00 Police Inspectors 10 0 0 Sergeants 7 0 8 Corporals 5 10 0 l lc Constables 4 I )} ziC II 3 0 10 Prison '.tVarders 3 6 8 400 Registrars 400 I I 6 8 Sanitary Labourers 3 0 0 J' Overseers . . 4 13 4 Secretaries 5 6 8 13 T ax Collectors 300 4 00 APPENDICES 137 APPENDIX II (b) SOURCES OF FOOD SUPPLY-BY LORRY A Fish Garri Plantain Banana Orange Cassava Cocoayam Salt Kokollie ------------------------------- ------------ 5 ~ns. 5 MIs. 10 MIs. 1+ MIs. 14 Mis. 7 MIs . 14 Mis . 42 MIs. 14 1\11s. Inchaban lnchaban Shama Dompim Dompim+ Kwt"si'im DompimJ. Elmina Dompim 10 Mls. 10 Mis. 14 MIs. 16 Mis, 10 Mis. Shama+ Apowa Dompim+ Beposo Shama 181\U5. 14 Mis. 16 ~ns. 21 MIs. 141\115. Aboadzi Dompim Beposo Agona J. Dompim "f MIs. 16 Mis. 18 MIs. 28 MIs. 16 !\lIs. Dompim Beposo+ Daboasi lnsuayam Beposo • 6 Mis. IS l\l1s . 20 Mk 32 Mis. 18 .MIs, Beposo Aboadzi l{usi Kommenda Daboasi 291\.05. 19t MIs. :20 MIs. 18 l\{]s. Dixcove Sese l\lpobow Aboadzi 42 Mis. 21 MIs. 21 MIs. I9t 1\lls. Elmina AgOD. ]. Agona J. Sese 42 l'.ns. 29 i\Us. 28 l\Us. 20 1'.115. Princess Dixcove Insuayam l\Ipohow 48 MIs. 291\11s. 201\11s. Axim Dixcove Kusi 32 MIs. 211\'[15. Kommenda Agona J. 26 MIs. Ayam 28 MIs. Insuayam 29 MIs. Dixcove 3:2 Mis. Kommenda 42 Mis. Elmina D Pm.lIuts Rice Pepper Bus/meal Crab Fowls G1'./1IU[S PII./apple Ducks 14l\Us. 10 MIs. .6 Mis. Ii- 1\I11s. 10 MIs. 42 MIs. 14 MIs. 32 1\<115. 42 MIs . Dompim Shama Beposo+ Dompim Shama Elmina+ Dompim Iifo+ Akyeasi+ Foso - 95 MIs. 84 MIs. 105 Mis. 95 MIs. 135 MIs. Ir5 Mis. Ongwa+ Twifo Foso+ Ongwa Oda Akkso+ 105 MIs. 105 Mis. II5 MIs. 105 NIls. 130 1\'115. Foso Foso+ Akkso Foso Akyeasi 115 MIs. 1I5 1VIls. 122 MIs. . 1 22 MIs. 135 MIs. Akenkansu+ Akenkansu Apradze Apradze+ Oda+ 122 l\'Ils. 122 Mis. 153 MIs, 130 !In s. Apradze Apradze+ Kade Akyeasi 130 1\'115. 130 MIs. 153 MIs . Akyeasi Akyeasi+ I1 Grand Totals 2,519 I,226 3,745 Those in Non-designated Schools were : Boys Girls Total P oasi Methodist Mission I IJ. 90 20 rro Poasi Catholic Mission I f]. 94 21 lI5 Ekuasi Methodist Mission I/J 48 20 68 Nkontompo A. M. E . Zion I/J. 19 19 Essikado A. M. E. B ethel I/J. II7 38 155 Essiaman Clayborn College 88 2 90 Sekondi Prept. 63 48 III New AmanfulMethodist I II 35 35 Takoradi Howard A. M. E. I/J. 125 38 163 Kojokrom Methodist I/J. 121 II 132 800 Ig8 998 Thus there were 4,743 pupils (3,319 Boys and 1,424 Girls or approximately 12 Boys to 5 Girls) attending School in the Municipality. APPENDICES 147 APPENDIX IV(b) SEKONDI CATHOLIC BOYS' SCHOOL-AGES No. on Averages: S tandard R oll T otal Ages Std. I A .. 41 845 } II ' 1 lB . . 19 206 II A .. 42 08 5 } 12'1 II B . . 35 426 III A . . 43 537} 13 III B .. 39 529 IV A .. 42 607} 14'7 I V B .. 38 565 V A .. 43 74 6 } 15"9 V B .. 41 662 VI A .. 37 8O 5 } 16'2 VI B . . 36 605 VII 35 594-17 APPENDIX I V(c) THE J OURNEY TO SCHOOL Name of School Under 2-4 Over 2 Mls. Miles 4 Miles - Total Catholic Girls ' 161 . 5 16 182 Catholic Junior Boys' 184 24 II 219 Takoradi Methodist 349 5 13 367 Presbyterian I II 131 7 I 139 Catholic Senior Boys' 223 23 26 272 Methodist J IS. Sekondi 494 13 25 532 E. C. M. J/S. 230 13 18 261 Takoradi Catholic . . 87 z 89 Adiembra State I II 106 3 9 II8 Methodist Girls 53 6 59 A. M. E. Zion 43 2 3 48 Clayborn College 33 4 13 50 Total 2,094 99 143 2,336 SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI-TAKORADI APPENDIX I V(d) (A) J OURNEY TO SCHOOL-ApOWA CATHOLIC SCHOOL No. Walking Town-Village Distance to S chool Takoradi 28 4 Miles Sekondi 2 10 Kwesimintsim 13 3 Apramdo 7 2t " Anaji · . 3 4 " Asakae 7 4t " Fungo zt )J New Site st " Total 62 JOURNEY TO SCHOOL-ApOWA METHODIST SCHOOL (B) No. Walking Town- Village Distance to School Takoradi 71 4 Miles Sekondi ·4 10 Anaji · . 7 4 Kwesimintsim 4 3 Kejebir , 12 2 Biaho . . 24 2l " Apramdo S 2t " Asakae 4 4t " Adj oa . . 7 2 Whindo 2 S Ajem · . 6 3t " Adiembra 2 8 Wotopo 4 8 Aboadze 2 6 Ampatano 2 6! " Sese 10 Fungo 2! " New Amanful 3 4! " Buronyikrom I t " Total 162 APPENDICES 149 APPENDIX IV(e) UMBER OF CHILDREN WHO BUY THEIR MID-DAY MEAL Name of School No. Answe"ing No. Buying Questionnaire Lunch Catholic Girls' .. IS2 91 Clayborn College (S Forms) So 33 Presbyterian IIJ . 139 2S Adiembra State IIJ. rIS 18 Methodist Girls' 59 9 Methodist Boys' J /S 530 134 Catholic Senior Boys' 272 rI O Catholic Junior Boys' 219 88 Takoradi Catholic Infants 89 4 E. C. M. (Standard 1-7) 261 58 Takoradi Methodist IIJ IS. 367 76 A. M. E. Zion .. 48 21 T otal 2.334 667 APPENDIX IV(f) EXPENDITURE ON MID-DAY MEALS No. Amottnt SPent- Name of School Buying Below From Over Ltmch 2d. 2d·-3d . 4d . Catholic Girls' 91 26 45 20 Clayborn College 33 4 26 3 Presbyteriam IIJ . 25 5 19 Adiembra State I /J. 18 18 Methodist Girls' 9 4 4 I Methodist Boys' .. 134 34 82 18 Catholic Senior Boys' lIO 14 78 18 Takoradi Catholic Infants 4 2 2 Catholic Junior Boys' 88 36 50 2 E. C. M. Standard 1-7 58 3 42 13 Takoradi Methodist I IJ IS. 76 9 60 7 A. M. E. Zion 21 4 17 Total 667 141 443 83 15 0 SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI-TAKORADI APPENDIX IV(g) ADDITION AL FEES ROMAN CATHOLIC BOYS' SCHOOL Classes P ees Infant Classes (I- III) I S . od. p er Pupil p er Y ear for Equipment Standards (I-VII) I S. 6d. " ROMAN CATHOLIC GIRLS' SCHOOL Classes E quip- Hand- N eedle- Domestic ment work workSc ience T otal £ s . d. £ s . d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Class I 0 0 0 3 6 0 4 6 II 0 0 0 3 6 0 4 6 III 0 0 0 3 6 0 4 6 Std. I 0 6 0 3 6 0 4 0 0 9 0 II 0 6 0 3 6 0 4 0 0 9 0 III 0 6 0 3 6 0 4 0 0 9 0 IV 0 6 o 1 0 0 0 5 0 o 16 6 V 0 6 o 12 6 0 5 0 o 19 0 VI 0 6 o 15 0 0 5 0 6 VII 0 6 o 15 0 0 5 0 6 A. M. E. ZION SCHOOL Classes P ees Infant Classes (I- III) IS. 6d. per Pupil per Year for Equipment Standards (I-VII) 2S 6d. E. C. M. SCHOOL-SEKONDI Classes Sports Arts and Crafts Library Total £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s . d. £ s. d. Class I 0 0 0 0 9 0 I 9 II 0 0 0 0 9 0 9 III 0 0 0 0 9 0 9 Std. I 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 II 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 III 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 IV 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 V 0 0 0 2 0 0 0, 0 4 0 VI 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 VII 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 APPENDICES lSI APPENDI X IV(g)-(Contim!ed) E. C. M. GIRLS' SCHOOL Standard Needlework Housecraft Arts amd Crafts Library Total £ s. d. " s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Std. I 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 II 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 III 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 IV o 12 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 I 0 I 3 0 V o 12 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 I 0 3 0 VI 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 I II 0 VII I 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 12 0 Remarks: Girls buy their own materials; the cost of which has been estimat ed as in this Table. SEKONDI METHODIST BOYS' SCHOOL Classes Fees I nfant Classes (I-III) IS. od. per Pupil per Year for Equipment Standards (I-III) I S. od. " Sports (IV- VII) Is.6d. " SEKONDI METHODIST GIRLS' SCHOOL Classes Needlework Domestic Science Total Standard IV 0 8 0 0 6 0 o 14 0 V o 10 0 0 6 0 o 16 0 VI o 12 0 0 6 0 o 1 8 0 VII o 15 0 0 6 0 0 T AKORADI METHODIST SCHOOL (MI XED) BOYS Classes Fees Infant Classes (I-III) I S. od. per Pupil per Year for Library . Standards (I-VII) 2s.od. " +++ T AKORADI METHODIST MIXED SCHOOL-GIRLS Classes Needlework Domestic Science Library Total Standard I 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 5 II 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 5 III 0 6 0 0 2 0 0 8 ~l IV 0 8 0 0 6 0 0 2 0 0 16 V o 10 0 0 6 0 0 2 0 0 18 H +++ VI o 12 0 0 6 0 0 2 0 I <> VII o 15 0 0 :+++ . 6 0 0 2 0 3 Re";"arks Contribution of £1 to Building F und paid by parents of newcomers. "52 SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDl-TAKORADI APPENDIX V(a) DUTCH SEKONDI NATIVE AUTHORITY Omanhene of Dutch Sekondi Head Family 8 Councillors 4 Safuhenes Head Fisherman Caretaker " l\1pinj:sim Ketan l\1anyakrom Ntankufu " Fijai " Anaji Odikro Sofokrom " Essipun Ahenkofikrom " Butumagyabu Nkroful " Diabendykrom Kansawurodu " l\1ampong Effia Poasi " Anaji " Fi ja i Ntankuful " Diabendykrom Headman " Nkuntmpoh BRITISH SEKONDI NATIVE AUTHORITY Omanhene of British Sekondi Senior Spokesman (Okyeame) " Captain (Safuhene) Head Stool Family 9 Councillors Odikro Anoe Ashieme " Kojokrome Ntarmakrome Captain (Safuhene) " Ngresia Anoe H eadman " Jacobkrome " Ngresia 11 Mpentemnsiriw Darkukrome Wunawu APPENDICES 153 APPENDIX V(a)-(Contimted) AHANTA NATIVE AUTHORITY Omanhene of Busua Head Linguist Head Stool Family " 12 Councillors Ohene " Agona " Ajemera Akwidaa " Akatenkyi Amanful " Apowa " Atenkyia Butri HimakIom Hotopo " Pomponei Pretsia Princes Odikro Yakor Buakrom BonsokIom Asani Bofun Kwekuwinwakrom " AhebuyankehkIom Sankoro Wadabeba Padire Anwhiabem APPENDIX V(b) THE J URISDICTION OF NATIVE COURTS H ~ Native Customary Limit of jurisdiction and Power Offence Grade A Grade B Grade C Grade D Putting any Person into Fetish A fine not exceed- A fine not exceed- A fine not exceed- A fine not exceed- ing £50 or in ing £25 or in ing £10 or in ing £2 or in (/) d e f a ult im - d e f ault im- default im- d efau lt im - g prisonment for prisonment for prisonment for prisonment for I:;; any t erm not any term not any . term not any term not F< exceeding six exceeding three exceeding two exceeding one C months. months. months. month. ::,; Sexual connection with a ~ Chief's Wife or with any Woman in an Open Place. . do. do. do. do. ~ Recklesslv, Unlawfully, or ~ Frivolously Swearing an Oath do. do. do. do. o Z Knowingly using Disrespectful tJ or Insulting Language or Offering any Insult whether ~ by Word or Conduct to a 1j Chief . . do. do . do. do. 5: tJ WithdrawaiJ. of Allegiance H owing to a Chief by a Sub' ordinate Chief do . No jur isdiction No jurisdiction No jurisdiction Withdrawal by a Chief of the Allegiance owed by his Stool to another Stool do. do. do. do. APPENDIX VI(b) ASSOCIATIONS Church Solely Religious . . . Religious and Rehgwus and Soc.al Educational Choral Roman Catholic (r ) Sacred Heart (I) Knights of Marshal Children of Mary St. Paul's Choir Confra-ter ni ty _ (2) " " St. John St . Peter's (2) Scapular Society (3) Catholic Mothers Singing Banel (4) Children of Mary English Church St. Agnes' Guild Sunday School St. Monica's Guild Mission Good Sheph erd Guild Communicant'" Guild :>- Methodist Church .. Christ Little Band Guild Sunday School Methodist Church Choir >u Women's Fellowship Women's Fellowship Singing Band til Youth Z tJ A. M. E . Zion (I) Choral Union Sabbath School Church Choir (2) Sabbath School Christian Endeavour Choral Union § en (3) Christian Endeavour Societ y Society (4) Woman's Home and Foreign Mission Society Apostolic Church (I) Women's Movement Sunday School (2) Apostolic W itness Movement ,'Presbyterian Church Old Senior Boys' 'Nomen's Class Church Choir I Association Sunday School Salvation Army Corps Band Songst er Brigade ~ --l ....... -..- APPENDIX VI (c) ASSOCIATIONS-SOCIAL AND RECREATIONAL Social Quasi-Religious Orchestral and Games Choral (f) o o >- Catholic Old Boys' Association Odd Fellows Minstrel Choir Football Associations: t"" (f) Methodist Old Boys' " Free Masons Vocal Band Heroes c::: Sekondi Social and Literary Club F ree Gardeners Starlight Orchestra XI Wise ~ Referees' Association Foresters P hilarmonics " Mighty Councillors < tIl Churchill Club English Lodge Takoradi Brass Band II Poisons >< Amaj ek American" Ekuasi " Great Titanics o Mamba Railway Silver Simple W inners >r1 E lite Zongo Vipers (f) tI1 Tempos Rowlands ;r, Victory Western vVolves o Waag z Hearts of Oak Hasaacas 8 ~ H ochey Club : ~ Alaboon's and Aquantarian's o Tennis : ~ Railway Lawn Tennis Essikado ~ APPENDIX V(c) THE J URISDICTION OF NATIVE COURTS ---- t-< Limits of Jurisdiction and Power Grade A Grade B Grade C Grade D Suits relating to the Ownership, Possession or Occupation of Land . Unlimited Unlimited No jurisdiction No jurisdiction Suits relating t o the Custody of Children other than such Suits arising in or as a result of Divorce or Matrimonial Causes before the Supreme Court. Unlimited Unlimited No jurisdiction No jurisdiction Suits for Divorce and other Matri- monial Causes between persons married under Native Customary Law Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited No jurisdiction >- Suits to establish the Paternitv of "" Children other than Suits in which "tI"l SQ1ne question affecting rights Z tJ aris ing out of any Christian mar- n r iage is or may be involved Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited No jurisdiction tIl U> Suits and matters rela ting t o the Unlimited Where the whole Where the whole No jurisdiction Succession to Property of any value of the value of the deceased native who had at the property of the property of the time of his death a fixed place of deceased does deceased does abode within the Area of J uris- not exceed £200 not exceed £100 diction of the Native Court. Persona l Suits . . Where the debt \V'here the debt Where the debt Where the debt damage or de- damage or d e- damage or de- damage or de- mand does not mand does not mand does not mand does not exceed £100 exceed £50 exceed £25 exceed £10 'Criminal Ca uses A fine of n ot more A fine of n ot more A fine of not more A fine of not more than £50 or im- than £25 or im- than £10 or im- than £2 or im- prisonment for prisonment for prisonment for prisonment for a period not a period not a period not a period not c: exceeding six exceeding three exceeding two exceeding one m onths. months. months. month. SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI-TAKORADI APPENDIX V(d) AHANTA CONFEDERACY EDUCATION GRANTS TO SCHOOLS-1948 Schools Grants £ s. d. METHODIST Poasi InfantIJunior 60 0 0 Sekondi Senior Boys 20 0 0 Takoradi InfantIJ unior 57 0 0 ENGLISH CHURCH MISSION SCHOOLS Sekondi Junior .. 9 8 0 0 PRESBYTERIAN MISSION Sekondi Infant Junior 115 0 0 Takoradi " 74 0 0 R OMAN CATHOLIC Poasi Infan tIJ u nioT 60 0 0 Sekondi Senior Boys 20 0 0 Takoradi InfantIJ unior II3 0 0 A. M. E. ZION SCHOOLS Nkontompo Infant 20 0 0 Sekondi InfantIJ unior 7 6 0 0 STATE SCHOOLS Adiembra 294 0 0 Total .. £1 ,007 0 0 APPENDIX VI la) MEMBERSHIP OF R ELI GIOUS ORGAN IZATIONS Church S ekondi Tak01·adi Total Apostolic Church 91 30 121 Salvation Army 137 57 194 P resbyterian Church Mission 300 440 740 F irst Century Gospel 66 66 R oman Catholic Mission 5,178 I)22! 6,399 African Methodist E piscopal Zion 264 24 288 Methodist Church 2,436 1,148 3,584 English Church Mission 2,232 340 2,572 Total 10,704 3,260 13,964 APPENDICES 159 APPENDIX VII (a) ( /~ -' J UVENILE D ELINQUENCY Table I : Details about Delinquents / No. Tribe Town Age 5e,'\1 Education R eligion Fanti Elmina 13 M Std. 2 A.M.E. Zion 2 Anomabo II F Nil Methodist 3 Cape Coast 15 M P agan 4 Asante Bekwai 12 Std. I Catholic 5 Yoruba Lagos 15 Class 3 Mohammedan 6 Hausa Nigeria 14 Nil 7 Nzima Half Assini 13 Pagan 8 Fanti Cape Coast 12 Class 3 Methodist ~ Hausa Sokoto 15 Nil Mohammedan 10 Ijor S. Nigeria _ 15 Std . 4 E.C.M. II Ahanta Sekondi 9 Class I Methodist 12 Taboo Ivory Coast 10 A.M.E. Zion 13 Ga Christianborg 13 Std. 2 Pres byteri an 14 Fanti Elmina 7 F Nil Methodist 15 Cape Coast 15 M Std . 3 16 Ahanta Sekondi 9 Class 2 17 Fanti Cape Coast 9 18 15 Std . 4 Catholic 19 Asante Bekwai II Class 3 E.C.M. 20 Fanti Shama 10 Std . 2 Methodist 21 Oweri Nigeria 14 E.C.M. 22 Fanti Komenda 15 Methodist 23 Cape Coast 13 F Std. 4 24 Ahanta Sekondi 15 M Std . 3 25 Taboo Ivory Coast 15 Class I . P agan 26 Ahanta Sekondi 10 Nil 27 Grumah Bawku 15 Mohammedan 28 Fanti Cape Coast II Methodist 29 Ahanta Sekondi IS Std. 2 E .C.M. 30 Fanti Kisi 13 Class 2 Methodist 3 ! Elmina 14 Std . 2 Catholic V Ahanta Anaji 12 N il P agan 33 Liberia Grandcess 9 Class 2 Methodist 34 Wassaw Prestea 10 N il N ole: S. Nigeria indicates Sou thern N igeria M Male F Female 160 SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI-Tl\KORADI APPEND IX VII (a)-(Contimled) J UVENILE D ELINQUENCY Table II: Residence L en.gth of No. W hereabouts of Parents Staying with R esidence: Sekon.di-Takoradi Mother-Sekondi Father- Parents Born in Sekondi 2 Mother- Prestea Father- Alone 7 months 3 Mother- Dead Father-Unknown 4 years 4 Mother- Dead Father-Dead 4 5 Mother-Dead {ArabiC SChOOl} Father-Angu Head Teacher 10 6 Mother-Obuasi Father- Dead Alone 4 7 Mother-H. Assini Father- D ead 8 8 Mother-Sekondi Father- Cape Coast Step-mother 3 \ , 9 Mother-Nigeria Father- Brother 4 ) 10 Mother-Accra Father- Brother-i n-law 9 II Mother- Takoradi Eat her -Unknown Mother 3 12 Mother- Takoradi Father-Accra 6 13 Mother- Accra Father-Dead Uncle 2 14 Mother- Dead Father- Elmina Aunt 6 15 Mother- Aboso Father-Cape Coast Brother 2 r6 Mother-Sekondi Father- Mother 5 17 Mother-Takoradi Father-Cape Coast Mother 2 - 18 Mother-Accra Father-Accra Grandfather I year 19 Mother- D ead Mother's late Fath er- Sekondi husband I " APPENDICES 161 APPENDIX VIT(a)-(Continued) J UVENILE DELINQU ENCY Table II: R es idence-( Continued) Length of No. TT'hereabollts of Parents Slaying with Residence: 5 ekondi-Takoradi 20 Mother-Shama Father-Takoradi Father 3 months 21 Mother-Nigeria Father-Takoradi Friend I 4 years 22 Mother-Komenda Father-Dead Alone 2 2..3 Mother-Cape Coast Father-Unknown Syrians I year 24 Mother-Dead Father-Agona Half-brother 6 months 25 Mother-Dead Father-Coutorun Uncle I year 26 Mother-Farmer Father-Dead Mother Born in Sekondi 27 Mother-Yamba Father-Dead Alone I year 28 Mother-Cape Coast Father-Cape Coast Friends 29 Mother-Dead Father-Dead Uncle 30 Mother-Kisi Father-Dead Alone 6 months 31 Mother-Sekondi Father~Sekondi Parents Born in Sekondi 32 Mother-Effia Father-Anaji Mother 4 33 Mother- Takoradi Father-Sekondi Parents 6 years 34 Mother- Imbraim Father-Prestea Mother 4 months - r62 SOCIAL SURVEY OF SEKONDI-TAKORADI APPENDIX V JI (a)-(Conlinued) J UVENILE D ELINQUENCY: T ARLE III-OFFENCE AND ACTION No. Offence Act-ion Stealing 6 months in the Probation Home. 2 \'Vandering and having no place Placed on probation for 12 months . of abode. 3 Exposed to moral and physical Employed at Palladium, Sekondi. danger. \'Vandering and having no place To be under supervision for 3 of abode. years. 5 Stealing Boys' Industrial School Agona- Swedru. ' 6 Industrial Institution, Accra. 7 Wa~dering and having no place Given a person to stay with. of abodo. 8 Stealing Boys' Industria l Sch ool, Agona- Swedru. 9 Bovs' Industrial School, Accra. 10 To'be taken home bv mother. II To be released. ' 12 Step-father to execute bond. 13 Wa~dering and having no place Placed under the Probation Officer of abode. for 2 years and then Accra. Exposed to mora I and physical To be given to h er grandmother. danger. 15 Stealing To be discharged on probation for 2 years. '[6 Given to the care of his uncle. 17 Given to t he care of Mr. J. S. Bentum. \ Exposed to moral and physical Committed to the care of his danger. father. 19 Wandering and having no place Committed to the care of his of abode. step-father. 20 Exposed to m oral and physical T o be under Probation Officer's danger. supervision. 21 Wandering a nd having no place To be on probation for two ye",rs. of abode. 22 Stealing Days' Industrial J nstitution , Accra 23 To be released to her mother. 24 To be on probation for two years. 25 Boys' Industrial Institution, Accra. I ndecent Assault To be on probation for 12 months. Assaulting a. Police Officer Given 10 strokes. Exposed to moral an d p hysical Industria l School, Agona-Swedru. da nger. 29 Exposed to moral and physical Committed to t he care of his d anger. grandmother. 30 Exposed to moral and physica l I ndustria l School, Agona-Swedru. danger. 31 Stealing Given a few strokes. 32 T o be on p robatio n for t wo years. 33 Exp~sed to moral and p hysical To be under P robation Offi cer's da nger. supervision. 34 Exposed to moml a nd p hysical T o be un der P robat ion Offi cer 's danger. supervision, , • APPENDIX VIII (a) D ETAILS OF SAMPLE OF CONVICTED PERSONS 1'v1 arried State C,'eed Education Tr'ibal Disl!ribution Age Groups Married Single Chris. Ma,hom.Pagan Lit, fllit, Ahnt. Col. A sM, N,TLib'a Nig'a Fr,Ty .Sie1'r, I{~~7 18- 30 31-40 41-50 5 1- 80 M 108 256 2 1 8 74 72 72 292 27 135 23 71 27 49 29 3 13 219 100 26 6 \ F 4 8 10 2 II II 4 5 2 :>g tIl RECIDIVISTS Z Age G,'oups of Recidivists . 'd' Note: 8 Number oj Previous Convictions oj R eC2m2sts Chris. indicates Christians n tIl VJ 18-30 31-40 4,1-50 51- 80 2-5 tim,es 6-10 times 11 -20 times Mahom. Mahommedans 21-30 times Lit. Literates Illit. Illiterates 2 106 Ahnt, Ahanta 79 45 10 17 10 3 Col. Colony Asht, Ashanti N,T. Northern TRIBAL DISTRIBUTION OF RECIDIVISTS Territories Lib'a Liberia Ahanta Colony Ashanli N.T, Liberia Nigeria French Territory Sierra-Leone Nig'a Nigeria F r.Ty. French Territories 13 44 12 30 q 8 10 Sierr. Sierra-Leone Juv. Juveniles ~ ~ APPENDIX VIII (b) ..0..- DEATHS REGISTERED BY AGE GROUPS- I946 Sex Under 24 HOU1'S 1-5 5- 15 15- 25 25- 45 45- 65 65 Y ears Grand 24 Hotws - I Year Years Y ears Years Years Years and Over T otals C/l 0 Male 3 24 10 9 17 146 42 26 277 ~ r< Female 5 16 7 18 13 34 7 18 lI 8 C/l c:: ::0 til >-< 8 40 17 27 30 180 49 44 395 0 "I1 C/l tn Principal causes of death were as follo'ws ;- '0z" 'V\; THe t1 Pulmonary Tuberculosis 58 "." Ch >-< (5':1u ~ Tuberculosis (Other Forms) 10 ---./ C, r! 0 '0" l> ~ Pneumonia (All Forms) C1 ::0 38 ,... /) >-t1 \ >-< Bronchitis (Acute and CIU:onic) 7 ~v"· v ii$ Malaria 10 "T :'\11 ;-.6~ ~\ Dysentery (All Forms) 4 f)