Manoim
replaces Lewis as Tribunal chair - 3 August
Interview with Norman Manoim, new chairperson, Competition
Tribunal and Alec Hogg on the Moneyweb
website
Keeping
capitalists honest - 4 August
Newly appointed Competition Tribunal chairperson Norman Manoim
says the variable nature of the tribunal's work makes it similar
to a football match. "It's entirely variable", he
says. "You don't know which team is going to turn up. It
can be horrendously boring because we are very paper driven and
so people get taken through long sets of documents". -
Mail & Guardian website
Competition's
bite sharpens - 4 August
The Competition Commission is serious about rooting out cartels
and making sure that not even fools rush in where angels fear to
tread. Since the beginning of the year, the commission has
launched more than ten investigations (see table) into various
cartels. The commission initiated six cases in 2006/07 and ten in
2007/08 compared with 23 in 2008/09. New chairperson of the
Competition Tribunal Norman Manoim told Moneyweb Radio, "One
of the big things that has changed has been this commission's
leniency policy which affects cartels". - Moneyweb
website
Weeks
rejoins Competition Commission to head up enforcement unit -
11 August
The Competition Commission's former senior analyst for its
Enforcement and Exemptions division, Keith Weeks, has returned to
head up the department, it said on Tuesday. Weeks would be
responsible for investigations in all of the Commission's
priority sectors, which include food and agro-processing,
construction and infrastructure. - Creamer
Media's Engineering News website
Something
fishy about disappearing millions? - 2 August
From the fishing boat to fish fingers, the entire hake value chain
is being scrutinised following allegations of collusion and
price-fixing. Of 200 000 to 300 000 tons caught annually 80
percent is exported, mostly to Spain, providing around 20 000
jobs. While fish fingers made mostly from low-grade Southern
African hake are sold in Spain for around R120 per kilogram, hake
is bought by processors for about R20 per kilogram. This is
according to fisheries research group Infosa, which is conducting
the study. The hake deep sea trawl fishery is also under
investigation by the Competition Commission following an
application last year by Cosatu. The labour federation has also
applied to the European Competition Commission for an
investigation. - IOL website
Small
firm scores against Rooibos - 7 August
It's a story of the teapot bashing the kettle as small tea maker
Coetzee and Coetzee records a vital victory against Rooibos before
the Competition Tribunal on charges of abusing powers and shutting
out other market players. The Competition Tribunal yesterday
dismissed Rooibos' plea to scrap the case and ruled that the
matter should proceed. - Business
Report website
Competition
authority 'is a hammer seeking a nail' - 3 August
A "hammer looking for a nail" was how the Consumer Goods
Council of SA (CGCSA) described the Competition Commission with
its investigation into possible anti-competitive behaviour of the
country's five major retail groups, which formally began last
week. Mncane Mthunzi, the CGCSA's chief executive, asked for
clarity on the catalyst for the investigation, saying the
retailers - Massmart, Pick n Pay, Shoprite, Spar and Woolworths -
had to be informed of the process before it happened. He also
slammed the notion that research by the National Agricultural
Marketing Council (NAMC) prompted the probe. - Business
Report website