Glenn Blogs

Let’s cut to the chase — in the 22 most aid-dependent countries in the world, when aid money comes in, a lot of it just… vanishes into offshore accounts. Here’s the wild stat: in any quarter where a country gets aid worth 1% of its GDP, deposits in offshore tax havens jump 3.4% compared to countries that didn’t get aid. And guess what? There’s no increase in deposits in normal banks. So unless everyone suddenly decided to open savings accounts in the Cayman Islands for fun, that’s basically aid money being parked overseas. The World Bank says 7.5 cents of every single aid dollar ends up offshore — and that’s just what’s visible. If the aid is bigger — say 3% of GDP — the leak jumps to around 15% . Translation: the more you give, the more gets stolen. Madagascar’s Numbers Are Insane Madagascar is one of the big aid receivers. Over 30% of its overseas deposits are sitting in tax havens — about $200 million worth. And the country’s GDP? Only $15 billion. To make it worse, quart...

 People love to say Africa is “rich in resources.” Sure — but per person? It’s a different story. And when you add debt traps, IMF conditions, and foreign companies taking the best bits, you get a model that’s basically structurally doomed . Sudan is the perfect case study for how this works. How the IMF Plays the Game The IMF’s governance structure gives the biggest voting power to countries with the most money — the U.S. has 16.5% of the votes, Japan 6.1%, China 6%. That means the rich countries set the rules. In Sudan’s case, those rules have been brutal: 1987 : Currency devalued by 44% — inflation explodes, purchasing power collapses. 2021 : Another massive devaluation — prices for basics go through the roof. Fuel subsidies cut — hitting the poorest households the hardest. The IMF sells this as “reform” to attract foreign investment. But the reality? Sudan’s pound loses over 90% of its value every decade , and the country gets poorer. Why Sudan Was an Easy T...