Playing the Globalisation Game: The Implications of Economic Liberalisation for Namibia

Playing the Globalisation Game: The Implications of Economic Liberalisation for Namibia

Namibia‟s investment policies are largely shaped by the process of globalisation and the neo-liberal line of thought which claims that developing countries have to attract investment by offering increasing concessions to foreign investors. This is reflected in the Government‟s policy on Export Processing Zones (EPZs). However, the manufacturing sector is still underdeveloped and Namibia continues to be a net exporter of capital. The figures for the last 5 years reveal that the foreign investment received is significantly lower than the capital leaving the country each year. Last year (2000),for example, Namibia received capital inflows of 795 million N$, but more than 2 billion N$ left the country. About two thirds of the foreign investment that Namibia receives goes into the capital-intensive mining sector without contributing significantly to employment creation. Unless this trend can be reversed, there is little prospect for the development of a significant manufacturing sector in Namibia.

Herbert Jauch

Labour Resource and Research Institute (LaRRI)

2001

© Labour Resource and Research Institute (LaRRI)

PDF

English