adminThe present competition law and policy is being reviewed as it has become outdated.
The Competition and Tariff Commission and UNCTAD this week held a seminar in Harare to disseminate information to stakeholders that the review of the country’s Competition Act was approved in Geneva in July during the 12th Session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy.
The exercise was conducted as a tripartite peer review involving Zambia and Tanzania, which was aimed at improving the implementation of the policy and enforcement of the law.
“The seminar held yesterday (Monday) was aimed at disseminating information to stakeholders that the review of the country’s Competition Law and Policy was approved and that the agency will fund the programme.
“The stakeholders were quite impressed by the recommendations. After this seminar UNCTAD is expected to give us a final project proposal of the programme to be undertaken over the next three years,” he said without revealing the amount required for the programme.
In 2011, the Competition and Tariff Commission volunteered to have its implementation of Zimbabwe’s competition policy and law peer reviewed under the auspices of UNCTAD.
The main objective of the commission volunteering to be peer reviewed was for the purposes of benefiting from UNCTAD’s capacity building and technical assistance programme, particularly in the training of staff and members of the tariff commission, including judges of the Administrative Court and the High Court who hear appeals against the decisions of the Commission, on various aspects of competition policy and law, as well as in the amending of the Competition Act (Chapter 14:28).
UNCTAD initiated the organisation of ad hoc voluntary peer reviews on competition law and policy with a view to ensure coherence between overall governmental approaches to privatisation and liberalisation of trade and investment regimes.
Such reviews, Mr Kububa said provide an ideal forum to appraise how economic reforms could promote development and ensure that markets work for the poor.
Under the auspices of UNCTAD, countries such as Jamaica, Kenya, Tunisia, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Armenia and Serbia have been peer reviewed. A voluntary peer review on the implementation of competition policy and law by the West African Economic and Monetary Union and its eight member States was also undertaken.
“It was the first ever review of a regional grouping’s competition policy, and it highlighted the challenges and opportunities which developing countries face in strengthening their regional cooperation and integration schemes.
“The peer reviews have become an integral and appreciated part of UNCTAD work on technical assistance.”
“They give rise to a range of recommendations on how the application of competition legislation might be made more effective at national and regional levels, and through UNCTAD to build capacity for the enforcement and advocacy of competition policy,” said Mr Kububa.
Zimbabwe formally adopted competition policy and law in 1996 with the enactment of the Competition Act (Chapter 14:28).
He said the implementation of that policy by the Competition and Tariff Commission has over the years produced benefits of a socio-economic nature to the national economy.
Specific benefits that accrued and are still accruing from the mergers approved by the commission include the creation and or retention of employment, development of export markets and generation of export earnings, and the indigenisation or localisation of control of strategic economic activities.
Online Reporter