scholarly journals The Unworkability of “Balanced Treaties” and the Importance of Diversity of Approach Among the BRICS

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 223-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Sornarajah
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
International Investment ◽  
Recent Attempt ◽  
Traditional Role ◽  
Newly Industrializing Countries ◽  
Global North ◽  
Investment Treaties ◽  
The Third World

There is much rethinking being done about investment treaties. While some level of uniformity existed when there was institutional direction by the World Bank and hegemonic pressure exerted by states in the Global North, geopolitical power is now shifting in ways that are producing greater diversity in approaches to the field. The evidence seems to indicate that each state that is of sufficient size or power will seek to fashion its foreign investment policy in the context of its own circumstances. This is certainly true for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (the BRICS). Within this group of newly industrializing countries, it is clear that a uniform approach to investment treaties will not emerge, despite avowals to the contrary. In this essay, I offer an assessment of the divergent paths some of these states have taken. I contend that China has emerged as a newly hegemonic actor in international investment in a way that undermines its traditional role as champion for the Third World, and that India's recent attempt to develop a “balanced approach” to investment treaties is unworkable. Only South Africa has developed an approach that seeks to protect its government's ability to serve the goals of its people by subjecting foreign investment disputes to South African law and courts.

scholarly journals Travelling the National Route: South Africa's Protection of Investment Act 2015

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-263
Author(s):  
Tarcisio Gazzini
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
International Investment ◽  
Strong Response ◽  
Foreign Investors ◽  
Public Rights ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Investment Treaties ◽  
Settlement Of Disputes

The South African Protection of Investment Act 2015 is a strong response to the perceived inadequacy of investment treaties, which are facing growing criticism for their unbalanced character, the undue restrictions on policy space and the shortcomings of the mechanism for the settlement of disputes. While other states have opted for a revision of their treaty models (i.e. India), concluded innovative BITs (i.e. the BIT between Morocco and Nigeria, not yet in force) or preferred facilitation agreements (i.e. Brazil), South Africa has taken a different route based on the assumption that domestic legislation is more appropriate than international legal instruments to regulate foreign investment. The Act is firmly anchored to the Constitution and provides a level of substantive and procedural protection that efficiently preserves South African sovereign prerogatives, but definitely falls short of that commonly ensured under international investment treaties. While states obviously need to balance the private and public rights and obligations at stake with a view to pursuing their economic and social development policies, it remains to be seen whether the drastic reduction in the protection of foreign investors operated by the Act was unavoidable and what impact it may have on the flow of foreign investment to South Africa. The article ultimately reflects on the implications of the Act from the standpoint of the protection enjoyed by foreign investors under both customary international law and investment treaties currently binding South Africa.

Social Work and Indigenisation: A South African Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lobelo David Mogorosi ◽  
Dumisani Gaylord Thabede
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Work ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
World View ◽  
Joint Decision ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
Global North ◽  
Work Education

For relevance to societal reality and challenges, countries should structure their social work education to deal with specific conditions and cultures. From its global North (i.e. Western Europe and North America) origins, social work has contributed to the expansion of the discipline and profession to the developing world, including South Africa. During the three decades (from the mid-1980s until the present day) during which they have taught social work in South Africa, the authors have witnessed half-hearted efforts to really integrate indigenous knowledge into the curricula. In writings and professional gatherings, scant attention was paid to curricula transformation imperatives enriching practice. To its credit, the Association of South African Social Work Education Institutions (ASASWEI) advocates for decolonisation and indigenisation of social work education. Discussing decolonisation and indigenisation in social work curricula, the paper critiques assumptions of global North ideas, cloaked as if universally applicable. An example is about some principles of social casework – a method of choice in South Africa – which mostly disregards cultural nuances of clientele with a communal collective world view that relies on joint decision-making. A culturally sensitive approach is adopted as theoretical framework for this paper. The paper concludes with recommendations that should help ensure that social work curricula strive towards being indigenous, contextualised and culturally appropriate.

China's International Investment Strategy

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Development Strategy ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Investment Strategy ◽  
International Investment ◽  
Bilateral Investment Treaties ◽  
Open Door Policy ◽  
Outward Fdi ◽  
Investment Law ◽  
Investment Treaties

The phenomenal story of China’s ‘unprecedented disposition to engage the international legal order’ has been primarily told and examined by political scientists and economists. Since China adopted its ‘open door’ policy in 1978, which altered its development strategy from self-sufficiency to active participation in the world market and aimed at attracting foreign investment to fuel its economic development, the underlying policy for mobilizing inward foreign direct investment (IFDI) remains unchanged to date. With the 1997 launch of the ‘Going Global’ policy, an outward focus regarding foreign investment has been added, to circumvent trade barriers and improve the competitiveness of Chinese firms, typically its state-owned enterprises (SOEs). In order to accommodate inward and outward FDI, China’s participation in the international investment regime has underpinned its efforts to join multi-lateral investment-related legal instruments and conclude international investment agreements (IIAs). China began by selectively concluding bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with developed countries (major capital exporting states to China at that time), signing its first BIT with Sweden in 1982. Despite being a latecomer, over time China’s experience and practice with the international investment regime have allowed it to evolve towards liberalizing its IIAs regime and balancing the duties and benefits associated with IIAs. The book spans a broad spectrum of China’s contemporary international investment law and policy: domestic foreign investment law and reforms, tax policy, bilateral investment treaties, free trade agreements, G20 initiatives, the ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative, international dispute resolution, and inter-regime coordination.

Redressing past cultural biases and imbalances in South Africa: a contribution by the Library of the South African National Gallery

1998 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-7
Author(s):  
Josephine Andersen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Adult Literacy ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
National Gallery ◽  
The South ◽  
Traditional Role ◽  
Arts And Culture ◽  
Government Initiative ◽  
And Training

Legislation in South Africa now provides for the inclusion of arts and culture and adult literacy in the education system and art libraries can help promote this Government initiative by distributing their resources widely. The Library of the South African National Gallery is playing an unusual and non-traditional role in helping redress past inequities. It uses visual art, with its concern with expression and communication, to encourage adult learning and stimulate articulacy by encouraging learners to ‘read’ texts from the mass media and visual artworks in order to develop skills in all kinds of literacy. SANG’s project shows how language and artworks can be linked together productively, contributing to the basic education and training of adults.

scholarly journals Incentives for the manufacturing sector: what South Africa can learn from Malaysia and Singapore

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-124
Author(s):  
Lenatha Wentzel ◽  
Kerry De Hart
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
South African Government ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
The South ◽  
African Government ◽  
Similarities And Differences

The expansion of the manufacturing sector is one of the South African government’s focus areas for economic growth and employment creation. The research on which this article is based identified additional incentives, applicable to the manufacturing sector, which the South African government could introduce to encourage investors to choose the South African manufacturing sector as a desired investment destination. The incentives provided to manufacturing companies by the governments of Malaysia and Singapore and those provided by the South African government are compared in order to examine the similarities and differences between these incentives. In the light of these findings, recommendations are made for additional incentives in South Africa to promote investment in South African manufacturing companies and reduce some of the barriers that prevent local and foreign investment in the country.

Outside Influence on South Africa: Afrikanerdom in Disarray

1983 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heribert Adam
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Economic Sanctions ◽  
Wishful Thinking ◽  
The South ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The U.S ◽  
New Entry

Among the sober assessments of U.S. interests in South Africa by the Rockefeller Commission one finds a rare lapse into wishful thinking. It is the contention that the option of Major economic sanctions against the Republic ‘must be kept in the U.S. policy arsenal’. Since this distinguished body recommended against expansion and new entry into South Africa (but also against disinvestment), the commitment of American and European firms in South Africa has grown substantially. U.S. investment alone increased by 13 per cent in 1981. The 1,200 British companies, followed by 375 American and 350 West German firms, with a total foreign investment of R30 billion in 1982, seem to confirm the South African propaganda of stability and growth. These interests constitute an effective veto block against meaningful disengagement.

scholarly journals Measuring the inward FDI potential of South African regions

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Krugell ◽  
M. Matthee
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
South African ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Skills Transfer ◽  
Foreign Investors ◽  
Investment Promotion

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to construct an index that captures the factors expected to affect a local economy's attractiveness to foreign investors. Problem statement: Following South Africa's reintegration into the world economy in 1994, foreign direct investment has been seen as a potential driver of growth and development. Concerns about the low investment rate in South Africa raise the possibility of augmenting domestic with foreign investment expenditure. The potential of technology spillovers and skills transfer from foreign direct investment have also been emphasised. As a result, Trade and Investment South Africa is involved in identifying, packaging and promoting investment opportunities. However, investments tend to be place-specific and this has lead to the decentralisation of foreign direct investment promotion. Currently the nine provincial development agencies are competing to attract investors and the larger local governments are also getting involved in the fray. This paper argues that some places have better potential to attract foreign investment than others. A first step to use scarce investment promotion resources more efficiently would be to measure the inward FDI potential of South African regions. Approach: This paper uses principal components analysis to construct an index that captures the factors expected to affect a local economy's attractiveness to foreign investors. This approach draws on UNCTAD's Inward FDI Potential Index and applies it to 354 magisterial districts in South Africa for the periods 1996, 2001 and 2006. The index creates a summary measure of FDI potential.Findings: The results show that different places present differential potential in urbanization and localization economies and market size. The high-potential locations are typically found in or around the major agglomerations, but there are a few smaller places on the periphery that offer FDI potential. Contribution: The index should aid the location decisions of prospective investors as well as local policymakers in their efforts to promote FDI-led economic development. Conclusion: The places with high FDI potential are not randomly scattered across South Africa, but tend to cluster together. Cities and towns can improve their attractiveness to foreign investors through the exploitation of natural resources, population growth, economic growth and strengthening links to metropolitan areas.

scholarly journals Transformation and development towards a fully inclusive society and economy in the City of Johannesburg, South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-74
Author(s):  
Paul Kibuuka
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
International Investment ◽  
Inclusive Society ◽  
Sustainable Economic Growth ◽  
The City

This paper analyzes the state of economic growth and development in the City of Johannesburg (COJ) South Africa as by the year 2016 and presents a case for transformation and development of the City towards a fully inclusive economy and society. The research reveals that faster and sustainable economic growth in addition to proactive pro-equity policies are a sine qua non for inclusive growth and participation in the City, where the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment persist more than 20 years into the democratic dispensation. During the last 17 years the City economy has grown at almost the same pace as the national South African economy with a trend reflective of major world economic events. Going forward, the South African economy is projected to grow at less 2% annually in the next 3 years. In terms of the City, the prognosis is that the City will either continue to trace the national economic growth rate or decline from 2% in 2016 to 1% in 2018. In order to achieve the objectives and goals of the Johannesburg 2040 Growth and Development Strategy in the long term and the City Integrated Development Plan in the medium term, the City leadership and administration will need to begin by not only addressing factors that inhibit economic efficiency including crime and corruption, but also the provision of a critical pipeline of skills required by industry in order to attract local and international investment. The increase in investment is expected to broaden the revenue base and to strengthen the financial capacity of the City to roll out services to the previously disadvantaged communities so as to bring them into the mainstream of economic empowerment and social transformation.

South Africa: Foreign Investment and Separate Development

1979 ◽  
Vol 9 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 30-36
Author(s):  
William Raiford
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
South African ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Key Policy ◽  
The Government

South Africa’s system of apartheid and policy of separate development is unique among nations. Apartheid is the pervasive institutionalization of discrimination by law on the basis of race; separate development would deny South African citizenship to the blacks of South Africa. A central goal of U.S. policy with respect to South Africa is to encourage that country to end apartheid and grant full political participation to all its peoples. This key policy is diametrically opposed to the position of the government of South Africa.

A Critical Analysis of the Protection of Investment Act 22 Of 2015

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindelwa Beaulender Mhlongo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Bilateral Investment Treaties ◽  
Current Form ◽  
Foreign Investors ◽  
Investment Protection ◽  
Investment Treaties

In 2010, South Africa reviewed its foreign investment legal framework and during this process, it terminated most of its bilateral investment treaties. For a period, there was no piece of legislation that dealt with the regulation of investment in South Africa and investors had to comply with commercial laws. To solve this problem, South Africa introduced the Investment Act in 2015 aimed at regulating both domestic and foreign investment within its territory. In light of the above, the questions central to the article are whether the Investment Act in its current form balances the rights and obligations of foreign investors and that of host states. If not, what can be added or deleted from the Investment Act in order to balance these two competing rights? The article first looks at why South Africa terminated the bilateral investment treaties. It then compares the Investment Act with the SADC FIP to ascertain if the Investment Act is aligned with the sub-regional standard of foreign investment protection. Finally, recommendations are made which include suggested amendments to improve the Investment Act.

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