a tripartite report - Unctad

138 VOLUNTARY PEER REVIEW OF CLP: A TRIPARTITE REPORT ON THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA – ZAMBIA – ZIMBABWE
administration of the licensing and assignment
schemes in the Zambian ICT market, the provision
of national frequency and numbering plans,
the allocation of radio transmission frequencies,
and the promotion of research and development.
It also has the statutory function to “promote
competition among persons engaged
in commercial activities relating to, or in connection
with, the provision of information and
economy on the part of persons so engaged”.
Section 8 of the ICT Act however provides that
“the Authority shall consult the Zambia Competition
Commission on any matter relating to
competition in the sector”.
According to the Commission, a lot of anticompetitive
practices go unchecked in the telecommunications
services sector because of
the concurrent jurisdiction on competition between
the Commission and ZICTA, which confuses
the investigative and enforcement authority.
The Commission is however receiving a lot
that there are a lot of competition concerns in
the sector, with the major concern being dominance,
and its abuse through both exploitative
and exclusionary practices. The Authority had to
put price caps on interconnection rates to avoid
predatory practices, as well as collusive pricing.
Tying arrangements are also prevalent in the
sector.
The ERB was established under the Energy Regulation
Act, 1995 with the functions of licensing
all players in the energy sector (electricity, petroleum,
gas, etc.), and setting electricity tariffs.
of undertakings in the energy sector, and investigates
complaints from consumers on price
adjustments made, or services provided, by the
undertakings. The Board’s competition functions
in terms of section 6 of its enabling Act are “in
conjunction with the Zambia Competition Commission
established by the Competition and Fair
Trading Act, monitor the levels and structures
of competition within the energy sector with a
view to promoting competition and accessibility
to any company or individual who meets the
basic requirements for operating as a business
in Zambia”.
The Bank of Zambia is a Statutory Body that was
established under the Bank of Zambia Act, 1996.
It administers the Banking and Financial Services
Act, 2005. Its broad functions are to formulate
and implement monetary and supervisory policies
that will ensure the maintenance of price
balanced macro-economic development. The
Bank has competition functions since it is concerned
over collusion between banks on interest
rates and other charges. In the area of mergers
and acquisitions, no banking undertaking can
engage in corporate restructuring without the
authority of the Bank. The factors that the Bank
takes into account in assessing consolidations
include limitations in voting control to avoid
dominance by one undertaking.
There are serious competition concerns in all the
regulated sectors, with the main concerns being:
(i) abuse of dominance, or monopolization (in
the ICT, insurance, energy (particularly electricity)
sectors; (ii) collusive and cartel-like behaviour
(ICT, energy, and banking sectors); (iii) tying
arrangements (ICT sector); and predatory lending
(banking sector).
From the interviews held with all the above sector
the cooperation between the Commission and
the regulators is good and satisfactory, with the
sector regulators acknowledging the supremacy
of the Commission over competition matters in
their respective sectors. The following are the
views and comments expressed in that regard:
(i) as provided for in the ICT Act, the Authority
has to collaborate with the Commission on any
issue related to competition, including the Authority’s
pricing determinations – the Authority
also always seeks the advice of the Commission
whenever it receives applications for change of
licences; mergers and acquisitions in the sector
are not the Authority’s primary concern, but that
of the Commission; the Commission however always
requests the Authority’s views and comments
on such transactions (Zambia Information
and Communications Technology Authority); (ii)
even though the Board has concurrent jurisdiction
with the Commission over competition in
the energy sector, it views the Commission as
the boss in that area, and that the role of the
Board is to give the Commission the necessary
technical advice and support; the Commission