BY TIRI MASAWI
The Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC) says Namibia still faces challenges of price fixing in some key economic sectors to the detriment of consumers.
The Commission’s chief executive officer, Vitalis Ndalikokule in an interview with Namibia Business Review recently said price fixing is a problem in some sectors of the economy.
According to Ndalikokule, price fixing especially in sectors that affect the daily aspects of consumers can be very detrimental and advantages the market.
Price fixing is a prohibited cartel activity where competitors agree to artificially raise, lower, or stabilise prices, rather than setting them independently.
It violates the Competition Act No. 2 of 2003, and the Namibia Competition Commission (NaCC) investigates and prosecutes such offenses, which can lead to substantial fines.
His sentiments comes after the Commission this year gave a combined N$1 million fine to five pharmaceutical companies for agreements sealed between November 2022 and 2023 which were deemed to be anti-competitive.
NaCC eventually launched a wide ranging investigation that found that the Pharmaceutical Society of Namibia (PSN) and close to 180 pharmacies contravened the Namibian Competition Act through price fixing.
“As a country we still face challenges with price fixing in some sectors. The recent one being the case of the pharmaceutical industry were suppliers colluded to fix prices that disadvantages consumers. We are keen to investigate such instances and we call upon members of the public to report suspicious cases of such a nature to the Commission,” he said.
This year the Commission also reached a settlement with the Payments Association of Namibia (PAN) as well as First National Bank, Bank Windhoek, Standard Bank, and Nedbank for anti-competitive conduct.
The investigations by the Commission revealed that PAN and the banks contravened Section 23 of the Competition Act by colluding to fix interchange fees through the Payment Clearing House Card Schedule.
The Commission said commercial banks should independently determine their own respective fees, based on cost structures and other revenue considerations.
Ndalikokule said the commission has been conducting outreach programmes to sensitise Namibians of their existence and also encourage them to understand the basics of competition law.
“Competition law in nature is a bit technical but we believe that Namibians should take interest in understanding it to protect themselves,” he said.
W Ndalikokule said they are working with tertiary institutions to encourage young Namibians to take up training in competition law. “We have also prioritised taking a few interns within our ranks to prepare them for this. In instances where there are long term vacancies we will take them in but it is a process that we have to go through to make sure that all Namibians understand this,” he said.
Ndalikokule told Namibia Business Review that the commission has also been working hand and glove with other sister organisations in the Southern African region to share knowledge.
“We have had several consultations with our sister organisations in Angola, South Africa, Zambia and Botswana to share notes on certain aspects that affect us.
These consultations are key in dealing with issues that affect different jurisdictions,” he said.
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