ROME – Senior managers at the World Food Programme sought to hold an event on fighting racism at the UN agency that would not discomfort the Executive Director, David Beasley, a former Republican governor of South Carolina, according to a new book by a former WFP Ethiopia country director.

 An African leader tasked by the ED to arrange the event resigned from his task, and later WFP, because “he realizes there is no desire to look into the issue, but just to stage a show,” according to the book by Stephen Were Omamo entitled  "At the centre of the world in Ethiopia."  

There is an interesting place in the book where senior managers try to discuss how this topic can be approached in a way that is comfortable to the ED who is from the Southern US.

 The author asks  “this is not about what the ED is comfortable with, but about how we create a better workplace at WFP isn’t it?”

 But he is not getting anywhere with it. He talks a lot about the “white male cowboys” who he argues are groomed in the organization.

 Were was born into a farming family in Kenya and graduated from Fresno State with a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness in 1986. Throughout the past 15 years he has managed a variety of areas for the UN World Food Programme. He served as a country director in Ethiopia when the organization was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.

 Today Omamo runs a management consulting firm focused on agro-food and building educational programs that develop transformative processes and innovative solutions to help countries, governments, NGOs, foundations and private sector clients promote food security and sustainability.

 jp