Competition Act under review

The ministry of industrialisation has initiated a review of the Competition Act, saying there is a need to modernise the law and to grant the Namibia Competition Commission (NaCC) a stronger mandate.

Touching on the planned reform, industrialisation minister Lucia Iipumbu said the reform aims to address shortcomings identified in the Act.

“The Namibian Competition Commission is currently also in the process of amending the Competition Act No. 2 of 2003 to improve identified areas around the administration and implementation of the competition law in Namibia,” Iipumbu said.

The planned reform would align the amended Competition Act with the National Competition Policy, Iipumbu explained.

“Some of those identified areas involve merger control, enforcement, market inquiries, price surveillance, excessive pricing and the investigation powers of the commission, to align with the National Competition Policy,” she said.

Just and fair process

Government would continue to lend a supporting hand to the NaCC to ensure it meaningfully carries out its mandate, the minister noted.

“The government remains committed to ensuring that the Namibian Competition Commission’s human and organisational resources are amplified in a way that allows the regulator to achieve its mandate under the Competition Act. It is in light of this that the government has committed to making budgetary allocations to the Namibian Competition Commission, which currently stands at N$254.3 million from 2009 to date,” Iipumbu said.

The NaCC had demonstrated its importance to the government through the work it was able to do, she emphasised.

“I am appreciative of the fact that the NaCC has become an institution of repute in the mainstream of our economy with its visible and specialised services as it safeguards and promotes a competitive environment in the Namibian economy,” Iipumbu said.

“I would like to reiterate that the government remains committed to ensuring that the Namibian Competition Commission is supported and strengthened to ensure a fair, just and orderly competition process in the economy to the benefit of the Namibian people,” she added.