adminThe project, which is called the Peer Review of the Competition law and policy, will be implemented in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania starting next year.
According to a document released by the Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC), following their United Nations Conference on Trade and Development held in Geneva recently, the objective of the project was to assist the national competition authorities in the above-mentioned countries to enhance their enforcement capacity including training of the authorities’ staff.
“The cost of activities covered by this project amount to approximately $1 million over the period of three years.
“The funds provided by the development partners for this project will be placed in a separate trust fund account established under the United Nations (UN) financial regulations and rules,” reads part of the document.
The funds would be managed in accordance with the UN rules and procedures applicable to the administration of Technical Cooperation Trust Funds.
In addition, implementation of the project seeks to increase awareness among all stakeholders on the benefits of competition law and policy.
The CTC has said Zimbabwe’s competition law and policy was considered weak in terms of controlling consumer welfare and abuse of dominance by companies in service provision.
“The overall goal of the project is to create an enabling business environment that will contribute to economic development and poverty reduction in the three countries.
“To achieve this overall goal, the project will focus on strengthening national competition regimes in dealing with anti-competitive practices at both national and regional levels.
“This requires improving national competition legislations and enhancing the capacities of national competition authorities,” said the document.
The project determines its objectives at national and regional levels targeting national competition authorities and the judiciary, local business communities, consumers, and regional groups such as Sadc, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and Eastern African Community as fora to promote cooperation between national competition agencies.
It is hoped that if successfully reviewed, the country’s Competition Act would see the imposition of stiffer penalties on businesses that abuse their dominance in different economic sectors.
Online Reporter