Competition law in the offing

According to the memorandum accompanying the Bill, the government approved a competition policy in 2005 after an economic mapping survey. The survey considered factors such as the increasing dominance of foreign companies in the economy, the need to promote the growth and development of citizen-owned businesses and the economic diversification initiative.

The report from this survey revealed market dominance in certain sectors of the economy. The Competition Bill states that since firms in such sectors enjoy such substantial market power, there is a risk in tendering for public procurement which may be open to collusion among bidders in their respective markets.