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ZAMBIA put into that activity for greater effectiveness, in - - Table 10: Expenditure Budget on Advocacy and Awareness Activities 159 advocacy and awareness activities in its annual expenditure budget, as shown in Table 10 below 2010 2010 2011 2011 Approved Actual Approved Revised Expenditure Item Budget Jan-Nov Budget Budget Jan-Dec Jan-Dec Jan-Dec (ZMK) (ZMK) (ZMK) (ZMK) Consumer and Public Awareness Activities 27 590 000 36 274 780 275 000 000 154 500 000 Business and Public Relations 10 000 000 12 149 900 15 000 000 15 000 000 Trade/ Agricultural Show 31 000 000 48 770 000 36 000 000 36 000 000 Total Advocacy and Awareness Budget 68 590 000 98 194 680 326 000 000 205 000 000 Total Recurrent Expenditure Budget 4 036 017 701 4 476 353 610 7 189 319 972 6 340 832 138 Percentage of Advocacy Budget to Total Budget 1.70 per cent 2.19 per cent 4.53 per cent 3.23 per cent Source: Given the view of the stakeholders that the Commission is not doing enough to sensitize the business community and the general public on competition and consumer protection issues through workshops and other awareness activities, including the extensive use of the media, and expectations that the Commission should be physically represented in all the country’s nine Provinces, the amounts being allocated for advocacy and awareness activities are not enough. In that regard, it is noted that the amount that was budgeted for such activities in 2010 was only 1.70 per cent of the Commission’s total expenditure budget, which rose to 2.19 per cent in actual expenditure. In 2011, the revised budget for the activities is still a low 3.23 per cent of total budgeted expenditure (the revised budget was additional to the approved budget, i.e., ZMK 205 million added. It is also noted that the Commission’s advocacy and awareness work is coordinated under its Consumer and Public Relations Department. This presents two major problems. Firstly, and as also pure competition advocacy might be sidelined in favour of consumer awareness. Secondly, that six professional staff, which is operating under a heavy workload on cases involving unfair trading practices and consumer protection as shown in Table 2 above. The Department is therefore physically unable to give due attention to advocacy and awareness work. The Commission’s advocacy and awareness work should therefore be handled by an adequately staffed and resourced specialist Unit in the Execu- these very important activities to the Commission’s operations. It is recommended that the Commission should allocate more funds for the activities, constituting not less than 5 per cent of its annual recurrent expenditure budget, and that the activities should be undertaken by a specialist Unit based in 6. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 6.1 International Cooperation The competition authority of Zambia cooperates with other similar agencies worldwide at both multilateral and bilateral levels. The cooperation at a multilateral level is done under the auspices of ZAMBIA
160 VOLUNTARY PEER REVIEW OF CLP: A TRIPARTITE REPORT ON THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA – ZAMBIA – ZIMBABWE various international and regional organizations, such as UNCTAD, the International Competition Network (ICN), COMESA, SADC, Southern and Eastern Africa Competition Forum (SEACF), and the African Competition Forum (ACF). Cooperation with UNCTAD is long standing, and dates back from the inception of the Commission in 1997. The cooperation not only involves capacity building and technical assistance, but also involves active participation at meetings of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy (IGE), and other gatherings such as the United Nations Conferences to review all aspects of the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices. The Commission further contributes to various UNCTAD publications on competition policy and law. The ICN, an informal virtual network that seeks to facilitate cooperation between competition law authorities globally, was launched in October 2001 by competition authorities from 14 jurisdictions, including Zambia171 . It has since grown to a membership of 117 competition authorities from 103 countries with the admission of the authorities of Namibia and Zimbabwe in 2011. The competition authority of Zambia has been an active participant in the ICN work programmes, including the Network’s working groups172 . Zambia is a founding member of COMESA, and hosts that regional economic community. The country’s competition authority is an active participant in the regional body’s competition initiatives. In that regard, the former Zambia Competition Commission (ZCC) provided one of the three regional competition experts that assisted in the formulation and drafting of the COMESA competition regulations and rules, that led to the formation of the COMESA Competition Commission. The COMESA Competition Commission is how- Board of Commissioners was appointed in 2006, no substantive work was accomplished towards the operationalization of the competition Regulations or the commencement of the operations of the Commission because of lack of funding. It was only in February 2011 that the Director of the Commission was appointed. Upon his appointment, the Director commenced the ground logistics on the commencement of the operations of the Commission at its headquarters in Lilongwe, A new Board of Commissioners was sworn in October 2011. The Board consists of chief executive other relevant experts, from nine COMESA member States173 . The Commission is currently working, with the European Union’s technical assistance under the TradeCom Project, on the effective commencement of its operations. The activities under the Project include the drafting of enforcement rules and procedures. The jurisdiction between the COMESA Competition Commission and national competition authorities is very clear. The regional authority is only concerned with competition concerns with a cross border dimension, or which affect trade between the member States. The COMESA regional competition regulations take precedence over national competition laws in accordance with the COMESA Treaty. - that Zambia’s new Act is silent on the supremacy of the COMESA competition regulations on crossborder transactions affecting Zambia. Cooperation in competition case handling between the regional and national authorities is encouraged. Zambia is also a signatory to the SADC Declaration on Regional Cooperation in Competition and Consumer Policies, which was signed by the Heads of State or Government in September 2009 174 . The Declaration notes that the SADC Protocol on Trade provides that member States should implement measures within the Community that prohibit unfair business practices, and promote competition, and that the Protocol also provides that a framework of trade cooperation among member States based on equity, fair competition and mutual ben- velopment Community in Southern Africa. It also recognizes the important role which competition and consumer policies can play in promoting eco- and alleviation of poverty in the region. The Declaration calls for the establishment of a system for effective cooperation in the application of member States’ respective competition and consumer protection laws, but acknowledges that cooperation should proceed in a gradual and phased approach with the ultimate aim of achieving harmonization, and establishing a regional framework in competition and consumer policies. A Competition and
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UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE
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Page 174 and 175: ZIMBABWE FULL REPORT ZIMBABWE
Page 176 and 177: ZIMBABWE TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE
Page 178 and 179: ZIMBABWE This report is part of the
Page 180 and 181: ZIMBABWE With the growing political
Page 182 and 183: ZIMBABWE of restrictive practices,
Page 184 and 185: ZIMBABWE competition authorities do
Page 186 and 187: ZIMBABWE divided according to geogr
Page 188 and 189: ZIMBABWE The Commission in 2006 whi
Page 190 and 191: ZIMBABWE to take care of themselves
Page 192 and 193: ZIMBABWE (under Section 9); basical
Page 194 and 195: ZIMBABWE Full scale investigation i
Page 196 and 197: ZIMBABWE (ii) to produce any book,
Page 198 and 199: ZIMBABWE The fact that CTC has a co
Page 200 and 201: ZIMBABWE tariat of technocrats, who
Page 202 and 203: ZIMBABWE Table 2: Number of Competi
Page 204 and 205: ZIMBABWE Regarding the handling of
Page 206 and 207: ZIMBABWE (Emphasis by the author) b
Page 208 and 209: ZIMBABWE Section 5 (1) (f) that pro
Page 210 and 211: ZIMBABWE Whilst the arguments can b
Page 212 and 213: ZIMBABWE Anti competitive agreement
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ZIMBABWE by conducting its case det
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