a tripartite report - Unctad

ZAMBIA
The Commission however did not do much in
2011 on its statutory advocacy function of “advising
government on laws affecting competition and
consumer protection”, mainly because that was
the Election year, and there were many changes in
the environment that made such advocacy work
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on two studies during that year. One is on the
wheat sector and the other on anticompetitive
practices in the mining industry. The Commission
will also be presenting a paper on competition and
public procurement and corruption to Parliament
in February 2012.
The Commission’s other advocacy and awareness
work has included the following: (i) publication of
a weekly column on competition and consumer
issues in The Post newspaper, which has the largest
circulation in Zambia; (ii) appearing on the
television, and speaking on the country’s various
radio stations, on consumer protection issues; (iii)
touring the country’s nine Provinces on awareness
campaigns; and (iv) releasing Press Releases
on case handling. It is also publishing a quarterly
Newsletter with a wide local and international circulation.
The Commission’s newspaper column in The Post
October 2011, and was on its recent sensitization
and enforcement tour of the Eastern Province of
Zambia. It was reported that the aim of the tour
was to register the presence and functions of the
Commission to both traders and consumers in the
Province, sensitize consumers on their rights and
obligations, and how to lodge complaints with
Commission also held a public lecture at the Lusaka
University’s Economics Department on competition
and consumer protection policy and law.
The 2010 Annual Report of the Commission analyses
the Commission’s performance against targets
in the area of advocacy and public relations during
that year, as shown in Table 9 below.
The above clearly shows that the Commission is
doing a lot in sensitizing the business community
and general public on competition and consumer
protection issues, and this was generally acknowledged
by most stakeholders that were interviewed
2011. Some stakeholders however still felt not
enough was being done. For example, there are
157
concerns that the visibility of the Commission is
still low (Bank of Zambia, Citizens Economic Empowerment
Commission, Economics Association
of Zambia) and that the Commission needs to
have physical representation in all the major centres
of the country (Zambia Development Agency,
Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission,
Economics Association of Zambia). There are also
expectations that the Commission should educate
and sensitize the business community on various
anticompetitive practices and the general implementation
of competition policy and law, as well as
on its responsibilities to consumers (Pensions and
Insurance Authority, Zambia Association of Chambers
of Commerce and Industry, CUTS International,
Musa Dudhia & Co.). Greater education of
consumers of their rights and how they can effectively
channel their complaints was also stressed
(Pensions and Insurance Authority, Economics Association
of Zambia).
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visit that lack of awareness of the public on
both competition and consumer issues is a formidable
challenge it is facing. For example, monopolization
is often not reported to the Commission
for investigation because of lack of awareness of
its adverse effects. Enterprises in dominant or monopoly
positions are also feared for possible retaliation
if their abusive practices are reported to the
Commission because of lack of knowledge of how
the whistleblowers can be protected by the Commission.
The awareness of consumer issues in Zambia
was found to be relatively higher than that of
competition issues. Most stakeholders that were
interviewed cited consumer concerns, such as
disclaimers and ‘no return’ provisions, sale of inferior
goods and expired products, and copyright
infringements, as the major concerns in the implementation
of competition and consumer protection
policy and law. Competition concerns cited
were limited to predation, abuse of dominance, or
monopolization, tying arrangements, and collusive
and cartel-like behaviour, mostly in regulated
sectors. Even the Zambia Association of Chambers
of Commerce and Industry, the “Voice of the private
sector”, was more concerned over consumer
issues than over traditional competition issues.
While the Commission’s advocacy work is commendable,
there is need for more resources to be
ZAMBIA