Browsing by Author "Marenga, Ralph V."

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    The coronavirus and social justice in Namibia
    (Politikon, 2021) Marenga, Ralph V.; Amupanda, Job S.
    Over the past 30 years, the successive SWAPO regimes that governed Namibia always followed a neoliberal policy path. Co-existing with the neoliberal elites are thousands of Namibians living in squalors in a country that has been declared as one of the most unequal nations on the face of the earth. Over the years, social justice activists never gave up the fight for a just and equitable society. They fought for better shelter, housing, economic equality, land, water, and sanitation, free tertiary education, and income grants to cushion the poor. The successive SWAPO regimes have been indifferent. Interestingly, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the government ended up implementing the very initiatives it rejected over the years. This text explores several social justice struggles over the years and demonstrates how these were implemented by the government as a Covid-19 response in 2020. It thus argues that social justice is possible and the state has demonstrated its capacity in implementing these programs. It then calls on social justice activists to use the Covid-19 currency to ensure that social justice becomes central in a post-Covid-19 economic order.
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    Prospects and challenges for sustainable foreign direct investment in Namibia: A comparative exploration of Ramatex textiles Namibia and Ohorongo Cement
    (University of Namibia, 2017) Marenga, Ralph V.
    Despite the government of Namibia having identified Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as instrumental to achieving national goals and objectives, the benefits do not accrue automatically. Experience with FDI, particularly Ramatex Textiles Namibia (RTN), has led to the creation of a negative perception by the general public towards FDIs. This required greater scrutiny so as to lend scope and explore whether all FDIs are detrimental towards government developmental goals and objectives by comparatively exploring RTN and Ohorongo Cement. The mixed method research design, comprising of both quantitative and qualitative methods, was applied. Quantitatively, a structured questionnaire as well as a rating scale was used. Interview schedules were used to conduct open ended interviews. The population of the study was 7330 and the sample size comprised of 66 respondents who were selected using the purposive sampling and snowball sampling methods. The key findings of this study are that not all FDIs are detrimental towards government goals and objectives. RTN had a relatively negative impact on the country, primarily through the pollution of underground water and violation of labour laws in the country. Contrastingly, this study found that Ohorongo Cement has had a far more positive impact on the development goals and objectives of the country. This positive impact was primarily realised through the Corporate Social Investment (CSI) activities the company has undertaken. In an effort to maximise on the positive prospects of FDI towards development, this study recommends that the current amended Export Processing Zone’s Act (Act No. 9 of 1995) be reviewed to ensure emphasis is placed on sustainable socio-economic development of the country. Trade unions should negotiate for better salaries and working conditions through collective bargaining. An education campaign to promote CSIs among foreign investors with a particular focus on its benefits for business success and the local community should be undertaken.