Trevor Shaku is the national spokesperson for the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu). He writes in his personal capacity.
Despite the development of regulations to try to monitor the activities of imperial conglomerates, the tendency of these multinational and transnational corporations to ‘cheat the public’ continues.
In the period of imperialism and neoliberalism, foreign direct investment is sought after by governments, especially in developing countries like South Africa. This is because neoliberalism minimises the state’s involvement, and in such conditions nations rely – to a dead end – on the private investments for expansion of production, creation of jobs and the growth of the economy.
History, however, has proven that foreign direct investment, embodied through multinational corporations and transnational corporations, are mainly concerned with exporting…