This article traces the history of the Cold Storage Commission (CSC) from its formation in 1938 to the end of the Central African Federation in 1963 and analyses its performance in this period. It contends that the CSC succeeded in carrying out the tasks assigned to it when it was established, namely, todevelop the country's beef industry in general and to promote the sectional economic interests of White beef producers in particular. It further argues that, the condemnation of parastatals by the IMF and World Bank as ineffective and inefficient notwithstanding, the performance of the CSC in the period under examination does show that, if well managed, parastatals can play a crucial role in enabling the state to direct development in select sectors of the economy in order to produce certain desired political and economic goals commensurate with its own development strategy. The colonial state's effective use of the CSC to promote the interests of the White farmers demonstrates that parastatals can be effectively used as instruments for political and economic empowerment.
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