MPs hear case for homegrown competition laws

— at sensitisation forum

Select Members of Parliament (MPs) yesterday attended a seminar on competition law at the Public Buildings, where they engaged in discussions on the importance of building a competitive culture and the relevance of such policies to consumer welfare.

The Sensitisation Workshop on Competition Law and Policy for Parliamentarians was facilitated by Dr Kusha Haraksingh, Chairman of the Caricom Competition Commission, who said member states must work to develop their own legal system for dealing with competition, rather than readily accepting outside ideologies.

“…if we have a proper competition culture operating in Caricom, then we will be doing something that I can explain as completing our independence. We have political independence, we need economic independence and we need to refashion the way in which the economy operates,” Haraksingh stated.

Competition law, which Haraksingh said it the fastest growing area of the law, outlines accepted conduct for firms to ensure that a competitive environment is maintained within markets, thereby protecting the welfare of the consumer.

The seminar was built around the three pillars of competition law: Prohibition of Anticompetitive Agreements; Prohibition of Abuse of Dominance; and Merger Control Regulation.

In his address, Haraksingh outlined the relevance of competition law to the parliamentarians and noted that the importance of maintaining competitive neutrality. In this

regard, he stated, when government enters a field where there are private enterprises involved, although there will unavoidably be certain benefits that the government agencies receive, it should be their aim to keep the two on an “even keel” so the consumer is the one that benefits.

This point led to questions as regard to local current affairs, including the highly debated issue of the application of VAT on private education, which was raised by Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan.

Other issues raised during the discussion included monopolies, specifically where water and electricity are concerned; the provision of government subsidies to a section of those in an industry, for example, where agriculture and the extractive industries are concerned; dumping of produce in a country and its implications on the local market; and the protection of local industries when foreign investors threaten their livelihood, as well as the benefits having those same foreign investors can bring to the consumer.

Competition law enforcement is ensured through the setup of commissions. While there is a Caricom Competition Commission, there is also the Guyana Competition Commission and Haraksingh explained that while these bodies cannot issue criminal sanctions, they can institute fines and warnings.

Haraksingh stated that to date the Caricom commission has only received one complaint, while noting that usually when grievances are aired, they are usually just “murmurs” but no formal complaints are actually lodged.