a tripartite report - Unctad

More documents

Recommendations

Info

ZAMBIA Table 8: Unfair Trading Practices Cases Closed by the Commission During the Period 2007-2010 Commission Decision No. of Cases 2010 2009 2008 2007 Complainant given refund, or replacement, on defective product 32 45 42 35 154 Case referred to other relevant authorities 11 3 6 5 25 Case closed on grounds of lack of consumer protection concerns, or no breach of the Act 4 5 1 6 16 Case referred to Small Claims Court 3 2 0 0 5 Case closed on grounds of complainant non-reachability Case closed for other reasons (such as withdrawal of complaint, 2 0 16 4 29 amicable resolution between complainant and respondent, and issuance of behavioural directive) 3 0 10 4 17 Totals Source: ZCC and CCPC Annual Reports 55 55 75 61 246 Fines imposed for the breach of the Act’s consumer protection provisions amounted to about K50.266 was paid to the government Treasury as the Commission is not allowed to keep the money collect- on unfair trading practices, against Zambia Breweries and the MTN Zoning Distribution Agreement case, were appealed against in the High Court of Zambia. Both appeals are still to be ruled on. Most of the stakeholders that were interviewed the view that there are more consumer protection issues in the country than pure competition issues, and that consumer concerns are more critical since there are not much serious competition concerns with the big players. It should however be noted that consumer concerns by their nature are generally more transparent and evident than competition concerns, many of which are not as visible, e.g., cartel activity. 4.2 Anti-Competition Practices-Prone Sectors Sectors that are prone to anticompetitive prac- include the telecommunications and broadcasting services sectors, the agricultural and mining sectors, and the beverages and cement industries. With regards the agricultural sector, the Commission submitted that this sector enjoys a lot of Total 155 government support and, because of that, there is a tendency for a number of restrictive business practices, mainly related to monopolization and cartelization. The most affected are the sugar, beef, and to some extent the maize, sub-sectors. In the mining sector, a number of competition complaints are now coming through to the Commission, particularly those related to refusal to deal. Most mining companies had in the past ignored the principles of competition in their operations since the mining industry had traditionally been exempted from the application of the Zambian competition law. It is only in the new Act of 2010 that the exemption was lifted. The industry is therefore still relatively new to the application of competition principles, and needs intensive education on its obligations under the new Act. The beverages and cement industries in both the COMESA and SADC regions have always been highly anticompetitive because of their high concentration levels, and it is therefore not surprising that those industries in Zambia are also prone to anticompetitive practices and conduct. and market allocation arrangements as the most prevalent restrictive business practices in the two industries. - Zambia as prone to anticompetitive practices and conduct include the insurance services sec- ZAMBIA
156 VOLUNTARY PEER REVIEW OF CLP: A TRIPARTITE REPORT ON THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA – ZAMBIA – ZIMBABWE sector. According to the Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA), most competition concerns in the insurance sector relate to unfair practices and under-cutting of each other by the industry players. The Energy Regulation Board (ERB) submitted that the main competition concerns in the energy sector include monopolistic tendencies, because of high entry barriers, and predatory pricing, and that collusive and cartel-like behaviour in the sector is also a very live issue. ERB also submitted that there are a lot of competition concerns in the electricity sector because of its dominance by one player, Zambia Electricity Supply Company, which tends to abuse its dominance. - ing rife in the banking services sub-sector, related to exploitative bank charges. 4.3 Competition Enforcement Challenges The new Act greatly facilitated the effective enforcement of competition law in Zambia. As has already been pointed out, the main enforcement challenges under the old Act included wide exclusions and exemption provisions, limited inter- tion provisions, limited investigative powers and administrative remedies, and absence of a leniency programme, which have all been addressed in the new Act. The Commission is however still facing some challenges in competition enforcement. ment conducted two dawn raids during the months of October and November 2011. The challenges it faced in doing so were mainly related to the human factor. It had to rely on other security agencies to undertake the raids, which had little knowledge of what was being looked for. Lessons were learnt but it was recognized that a lot more needed to be done by the Commission at the next raid. abuse cases because of lack of information and appropriate economic tools. Training needs required in competition enforcement include investigative skills, litigation skills, and, to a lesser extent, principles of competition law. It is recommended that the Commission undergo extensive training in the conduct of dawn raids, as well as in other competition enforcement areas such as case investigations and litigation. 5. COMPETITION ADVOCACY The Commission has wide advocacy responsibilities under the Act. In terms of section 5 of the new Act the Commission is the “primary advocate for competition and effective consumer protection in Zambia”. It also has the functions of: (i) advising government on laws affecting competition and consumer protection; (ii) providing information for the guidance of consumers regarding their rights under the Act; (iii) advising the Minister on agreements relevant to competition and consumer protection and on any other matter relating to competition and consumer protection; and (iv) cooperating with and assisting any association or body of persons to develop and promote the observance of standards of conduct for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Act. The old Act also bestowed upon the Commission considerable advocacy functions, such as the functions of: (i) providing persons engaged in business with information regarding their rights under the Act; (ii) undertaking studies and making available to the public <strong>report</strong>s regarding the operations of the Act; and (iii) cooperating with and assisting any association or body of persons to develop and promote the observance of standards of conduct for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Act. visit to Zambia that it tries to make itself visible to the business community and general public through the media (both print and electronic). It engages the government in what it is doing through representations on discussions under the auspices of trade negotiations forums such as the WTO and the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the European Union. It also has held joint stakeholders workshops with various organizations such as the Law Association of Zambia, the Zambia Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Chamber of Mines, the Manufacturers Association, and the Pensions and Insurance Authority.
Page 1 and 2:
UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE
Page 4:
UNITUNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TR
Page 7 and 8:
2 VOLUNTARY PEER REVIEW OF CLP: A T
Page 10 and 11:
COMPARATIVE ASSESMENT COMPARATIVE A
Page 12 and 13:
PREFACE This comparative assessment
Page 14 and 15:
PREFACE agreements. . In the United
Page 16 and 17:
PREFACE Finally in the United Repub
Page 18 and 19:
PREFACE be set at a percentage of t
Page 20 and 21:
PREFACE the market price but constr
Page 22 and 23:
PREFACE (d) the extent to which the
Page 24 and 25:
PREFACE pendence is maintained and
Page 26 and 27:
PREFACE the effectiveness of the or
Page 28 and 29:
PREFACE practical solutions, for ex
Page 30:
PREFACE In addition to formal coope
Page 33 and 34:
28 VOLUNTARY PEER REVIEW OF CLP: A
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110: 104 VOLUNTARY PEER REVIEW OF CLP: A
Page 159: 154 VOLUNTARY PEER REVIEW OF CLP: A
Page 174 and 175: ZIMBABWE FULL REPORT ZIMBABWE
Page 176 and 177: ZIMBABWE TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE
Page 178 and 179: ZIMBABWE This report is part of the
Page 180 and 181: ZIMBABWE With the growing political
Page 182 and 183: ZIMBABWE of restrictive practices,
Page 184 and 185: ZIMBABWE competition authorities do
Page 186 and 187: ZIMBABWE divided according to geogr
Page 188 and 189: ZIMBABWE The Commission in 2006 whi
Page 190 and 191: ZIMBABWE to take care of themselves
Page 192 and 193: ZIMBABWE (under Section 9); basical
Page 194 and 195: ZIMBABWE Full scale investigation i
Page 196 and 197: ZIMBABWE (ii) to produce any book,
Page 198 and 199: ZIMBABWE The fact that CTC has a co
Page 200 and 201: ZIMBABWE tariat of technocrats, who
Page 202 and 203: ZIMBABWE Table 2: Number of Competi
Page 204 and 205: ZIMBABWE Regarding the handling of
Page 206 and 207: ZIMBABWE (Emphasis by the author) b
Page 208 and 209: ZIMBABWE Section 5 (1) (f) that pro
Page 210 and 211:
ZIMBABWE Whilst the arguments can b
Page 212 and 213:
ZIMBABWE Anti competitive agreement
Page 214:
ZIMBABWE by conducting its case det
Page 217 and 218:
Page 219 and 220:
Page 221 and 222:
Page 223 and 224:
Page 225 and 226:
Page 227:
Printed at United Nations, Geneva -
show all

a tripartite report - Unctad

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?