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Commentary

opposition to each other. And so a few years later we have what was to become a not

unfamiliar story of CIA involvement in the removal of an African leader.

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Nathan Nunn’s study “US Food Aid and Civil Conflict” gives another example of the USA

prioritising its own self-interest

See the following :
An important characteristic of US wheat aid, which is mainly governed by Public

Law 480 (PL 480), is the role it plays in providing a use for surplus food
production.*

(Author : the emphasis is mine )

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A significant proportion of the reported value of food aid consists of transportation
costs. Using data from 1999–2000, Barrett and Maxwell (2005, pp. 166–168)
estimate that only 47 percent of the total value of food aid is the actual value of the

commodity itself.

The other 53 percent is accounted for by transportation costs.*
(* Author : the emphasis is mine )
"US Food Aid and Civil Conflict."
Nunn, Nathan, and Nancy Qian.
American Economic Review 104, no. 6 (June 1, 2014): 1630–66.

(Author : As other parts of the above study point out the timing of the years of US
food aid to Africa in the form of grain followed a year in which US farmers over
produced.
ie The food aid’ acted as a subsidy to US farmers

The study also points out that US law requires food aid to be transported by US
businesses.
ie The food aid’ acted as a subsidy to US farmers)

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Post-independence development of Africa has been overshadowed by the ‘boss-centric’
relationship adopted by the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWI) towards African nations
(Author : Bretton Woods Institutions are the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. The
president of the bank is the president of the entire World Bank Group. The president of the World Bank is
traditionally an American. The USA has been the largest contributor of funds and so has the most
influence on the strategies pursued by the BWI)

From the earliest years of independence the BWI relationship with African leaders can only
be regarded ‘boss-centric’ (ie telling African leaders what they must do). But many might regard