Doctoral Degrees (DPCL)

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    Labour broking in Namibia and South Africa compared, using the International Labour Organisation agency work regulation as a benchmark
    (University of Namibia, 2022) Nghiishililwa, Fritz Sackeus
    Nowadays, the global economy is characterised by ever-increasing competition following trade liberalisation, mobility of capital and the introduction of microelectronic technology in the workplace. These developments have, in turn, seen a decrease in the demand for unskilled and semi-skilled workers in Namibia''s fragile labour market. Employers have expressed their unwillingness to employ unskilled and semi-skilled workers on a permanent basis in an attempt to evade the high financial ramifications implicit in the employment of workers on a permanent basis. The global economy has also witnessed the emergence of temporary services by labour brokers, which has become a common phenomenon in the labour market. In view of these developments, it seems that the hiring of workers on a temporary basis to satisfy the current labourmarket needs will persist unabated for a considerable period of time. In essence, labour broking involves the provision of workers to third parties in return for a financial consideration who, in turn, take full control and supervision of these workers. The problem with an arrangement of this nature is that the third party takes full control and supervision of the workers despite that the employment contract only exists between the third party and the labour broker. The primary objective of this thesis is to determine whether the law regulating labour broking in Namibia is the most appropriate in addressing labour inadequacies in the employment sector. It investigates whether the existing legislation regulating labour broking in Namibia and South Africa conforms to the standards set by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 181, which regulates private employment agencies (PEAs or labour brokers). The ILO Convention 181 has thus been set as a benchmark for determining the desirability and suitability of the labour-broking laws in Namibia and South Africa. In answering this question, the thesis also compares labour broking legislation in those two countries. The underlying reason behind the selection of South Africa as a country of comparison is premised on the similarities between the two countries‟ legal systems and socio-economic history, which date back to the period Namibia was a mandated territory administered by the South African government.
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    Towards responsible lending in Namibian consumer credit law: A comparative investigation
    (University of Pretoria, 2017) Asheela, Ndatega Victoria
    The regulation of consumer credit in Namibia mainly is provided for by the Usury Act 73 of 1968 and the Credit Agreements Act 75 of 1980. These legislative enactments originated in South Africa and were applied in South West Africa during the period of South Africa’s mandate over what is now the Republic of Namibia. Despite the fact that these enactments are over 35 years old, they are substantially unchanged. In response to an awareness of the threat of consumer over-indebtedness and other events such as financial crises, the purpose in this thesis is to undertake a situational analysis of the debt prevention measures as provided for by the Namibian legislative framework and the extent of protection these measures afford consumers in terms of irresponsible credit and over-indebtedness. A broad survey of the policies aimed at promoting responsible lending benchmarks the Namibian consumer credit regulatory framework against the leading international best principles which have been developed in response to global economic challenges. The Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority in the 2014 Microlending Bill proposes to introduce responsible lending practices in the form of a compulsory pre-agreement assessment of the prospective consumer before providing them with credit. In a comparative investigation, the creditworthiness assessment and related measures central to the responsible lending regimes in South Africa and Australia are considered. Measuring the Namibian consumer credit regulatory framework against these recent developments, it is submitted that the current debt prevention measures are inadequate in protecting consumers from irresponsible credit lending and the risk of consumer over-indebtedness. This thesis supplies reasons for the need in Namibia to update the regulatory structure of the credit industry in order to protect consumers. As a contribution to the promotion of a culture of responsible lending in the Namibian consumer credit market, the thesis proposes the introduction of responsible lending measures in Namibia’s consumer credit legislative framework.