Executive set to leave Competition Commission

THE Competition Commission has lost another senior member of its executive team with the announcement that Ibrahim Bah, head of mergers and acquisitions, will be leaving the commission at the end of this year.

Mr Bah yesterday confirmed that he was leaving, saying he was giving the commission three months’ notice to recruit a replacement. Prior to his appointment the position had been rotated between acting managers for more than a year.

The commission is facing increasing pressure to retain staff, and management has embarked on a strategic development plan with the specific goal of becoming a “people-centred” agency.

In the last two years the commission has seen the departure of its deputy commissioner, the head of enforcement, the head of mergers and acquisitions, the chief economist and, more recently, the chief financial officer.

Many of the positions had been filled, addressing concerns by competition law experts about the effect the resignations had had on the operations of the commission.

Mr Bah had been the divisional manager for mergers at the Irish Competition Authority in Dublin, Ireland, before joining the commission a year ago. He said his family’s decision not to return to SA from Ireland was the main reason behind his decision to resign.

Deputy Commissioner Trudi Makhaya said yesterday that the institution was sufficiently robust, despite members of management saying they were concerned about the high turnover.

She said it was unfortunate to lose someone with Mr Bah’s level of experience and knowledge, but that there was capacity within the commission to weather the storm while they recruited a replacement.

The recent unionisation of the commission’s staff saw economists and senior analysts embark on a lunchtime picket last month, demanding higher salaries and an end to the “violations of workers’ rights” by management.