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Competition law review on track
- Thread starter rpm
- Start date
AdLo
Expert Member
More monitoring of gov's screw the consumer policy.
HosstheBoss
Senior Member
hmmm, guess he doesn't check his phone bill at the end of the month, we're not talking hamburgers here!
The_Unbeliever
Honorary Master
bah, humbug.
more talk, less work.
more talk, less work.
lenosb
Well-Known Member
"The proposed changes in regulation reflect the government's frustration with the effectiveness of competition law, which has failed to stamp out monopolies and suspected anti-competitive behaviour."
Yeah right... we can all see just how frustrated the goverment has been with competition law, especially when they are major shareholders in the said monopolies. Then there's Telkoms "suspected" anti-competitive behaviour....oops I forgot there's no proof of that!
Yeah right... we can all see just how frustrated the goverment has been with competition law, especially when they are major shareholders in the said monopolies. Then there's Telkoms "suspected" anti-competitive behaviour....oops I forgot there's no proof of that!
Tomasz-London
Senior Member
Imminent, springs to mind. lol
I think this action is primarily due to the Government's stance over Mittal Steel, who is currently raping the cr@p out of SA manufacturers, particularly with their rather frequent price increases, and their selling local steel at import prices policy. If these changes are brought into play, then we most certainly will have an avenue to take the fight to Telkom. We desperately need a competition commission with teeth, and this might just do it. This is not because of Telkom's monopoly - the government loves Telkom's monopoly - it's making them a lot of money. This is because of Mittal and their taking most of the money out of the country, which = bad for our economy.
It's about time.
It's about time.
Ugh... that quote that lenosb found is a terrible indictment of some the current thinking that goes down in government. You can't just pass a law and expect it to work automagically. Laws need to be enforced and to be enforced there needs to be an effective regulator with significant powers and a knowledgable and motivated staff. Can anyone actually claim that ICASA is such a regulator? Even under the 'improved' EC Act they are crippled by their leadership and staffing issues.
jontyB: That's true, but I think my comment still applies as that quote reflects some kind of wacky belief that merely passing a law will somehow solve the problem. Think how stupid it would be if Charles Ncqakula said "We're frustrated with the laws against murder, because it has failed to stamp out murder". The laws are only one part of the equation. Effectively enforcing the laws (via bodies such as the Competition Commission, ICASA or the FSB) is the second just as important part of the equation. Govt seems to neglect the second part and then blame the first.
Agreed. However I do know that the competition board is quite capable, but have not really been able to actively counter the modern measures taken by companies to be uncompetitive, as the loopholes in the laws were easy for them (i.e. the companies) to undermine the competition board.
