2014/15 Annual Report

Competition Commission
4
4. Minister’s Foreword
“It is important that we strengthen the competition
authorities to deal with market abuse, particularly anticompetitive
conduct by large firms who abuse their
dominance in key markets of the economy.”
Mr Ebrahim Patel
It gives me great pleasure to table the Annual Report of the Competition Commission for the financial year 2014/15. The competition authorities derive their
mandate from the Competition Act, whose objectives combine traditional market efficiency issues with South Africa’s very specific socio-economic realities and
it places emphasis on public interest considerations that are a critical part of the work of the authorities.
The Competition Act can help South Africa to achieve our bold goals on job
creation and inclusive growth, as set out in the National Development Plan and
its implementation strategies: the New Growth Path jobs drivers and the action
plans on industrial policy and agriculture.
The strategies can best be summarised through six i’s:
Infrastructure development, to lay the foundations for growth and
development, building energy plants, transport and logistics systems,
information and communication technologies and water infrastructure
Industrialisation, to improve the size and strengths of the productive sectors
of the economy which in turn is critical to beneficiation of the mineral and
agriculture resource base and the growth of services sectors
Investment, including attracting domestic and foreign direct investment to
expand the country’s productive economy and smart industrial funding
partnerships by public entities with the private sector
Innovation, to bring new ideas and the products of research and development
to economic activity and provide opportunities for, and an incentive to grow
the quality of, our skills base