The 1902 decree centralized administration and diverted colony revenues to Dakar

Evidence

The purpose of the I 902 reorganization was to increase the governor general’s freedom of action in three ways. The decree relieved him of the responsibility of directly administering Senegal, provided him with the right to establish a centralized bureaucracy to supervise the territorial administrations, and authorized him to set aside a portion of each member colony’s revenues; this contribution was to cover the federation’s new operating costs, and help subsidize a federal program of public works designed to improve communication between the various territories. To implement these changes, the seat of the Government General was transferred from Saint-Louis to Dakar, and a new territory was created from part of Senegal and the old Western Sudan, and placed under a delegate of the governor general at Kayes. The expenses of the Government General were to be paid from a special section of the budget of this new territory, to which the other colonies would contribute. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 154