This week the Competition Commission will hold its 18th annual conference in Sandton, Johannesburg, under the theme "Looking back to look forward".
The 2024 conference theme resonates the words of a visionary scholar of law, Trudi Hartzenberg.
In her 2006 paper titled "Competition Policy and Practice in South Africa: Promoting Competition for Development Symposium on Competition Law and Policy in Developing Countries," Hartzenberg recalled that “South Africa’s new competition policy and law were drafted during the early years of South Africa’s new democracy, a period characterised by important domestic policy and regulatory reform".
“These reforms were not only part of the comprehensive programme for the country’s economic, social and political transformation, but also its integration into the global economy after decades of isolation under the apartheid regime. In the case of competition policy, however, concerns about specific development challenges entrenched by the previous era of political and economic control, had to be explicitly reflected in the new South Africa’s law and policy.
The core focus of economic efficiency had to be tempered by a strong emphasis on development
“It was clear that a robust competition law would only be politically possible if the law specifically addressed public interest concerns. The core focus of economic efficiency had to be tempered by a strong emphasis on development.”
This year’s conference is not just any other, it presents a necessary platform for reflection and tacking stock of the journey SA has traversed since the promulgation of the Competition Act in 1998. Rightfully, representatives from industries including the legal fraternity, economists and regulators from competition authorities in Algeria and Tanzania, among others, will convene to discuss the impact of competition regulation and the evolution of competition law and its jurisprudence.
Delegates will also gain more insight into the commission’s approach to competition regulation that combines our enforcement powers with extensive advocacy activities to build partnerships and promote an amicable resolution of anti-competitive practices.
I have previously shared that the commission has different divisions, and the purpose of our advocacy division is to advocate for and promote fair competition and compliance such as ensuring that prices of goods and services are affordable to consumers.
Over the past few years, advocacy has proven to not only increase the reach and effectiveness of our ongoing initiatives but also assisted the commission in its objective of promoting pro-competitive policies in the reform and revitalisation of various markets.
The advocacy team employs a series of different strategies to promote reform and pro-competitive policies and business practices. Looking back, one of the milestone advocacy projects has been the countrywide removal of exclusive agreements between schools and suppliers of school uniforms to ensure that prices are competitive and more affordable for consumers.
Another major successful advocacy project has made great strides towards deconcentrating the automotive aftermarket. Previously, warrantees excluded independent repairers from doing repair work on motor vehicles under warrantee. These exclusions were removed through advocacy work and the team’s guidelines.
Through advocacy, small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) owned and controlled by historically disadvantaged persons (HDPs) have been included to a far larger extent than before on the panels of service providers in the banking and insurance industries. The team’s work also played a role in introducing the rotation of work among service providers on these panels.
It is noteworthy to mention that government does not operate as an island. The commission’s pursuit of and the implementation of advocacy initiatives have contributed significantly to educating government officials on what is called bid rigging in public procurement.
This work has culminated in government introducing a module on bid rigging in public procurement at the National School of Government. These and many other advocacy-led projects have illustrated to the global competition regulation community the power this engaging approach to competition law education has.
Moving forward, the advocacy division will continue to undertake education and awareness initiatives and programmes that seek to resolve concerns about anti-competitive practices.
While the commission has achieved a lot in the last 25 years of competition law enforcement, it is clear that we still need to do more in our quest for a growing, deconcentrated and inclusive economy.
There needs to be more advocacy education and awareness programmes that inform new entrepreneurs, SMEs and the public about competition policy and laws. More engagement with stakeholders including businesses and associations will foster in-depth understanding of both the Competition Act and the commission’s mandate. We could do even more through the support of civil society and further consumer activism.
In ensuring that civil society rally behind our work, and why it is important, we regularly engage through this column as one many ways we hope to reach out to our citizens nationwide and beyond. We encourage readers to engage with the series of plenary sessions throughout this week’sannual conference by keeping an eye on our social media platforms and finding more information about the proceedings on our website at www.compcom.co.za
* Makunga is spokesperson for the Competition Commission of SA
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