The Competition Authority at the 12th session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy in Geneva

The Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Competition Authority represented Botswana at the 12^th Session of the Inter-govermental Group of Experts (IGE) on Competition Law and Policy in Geneva from July 9^th to 11^th.

Addressing the session, the Deputy Director in the Department of Trade and Consumer Affairs Mrs Seipati Grace Olweny announced that the Competition Authority which was established in April 2011 is now fully operational.

She said the Government of Botswana has benefited a lot from the technical assistance offered by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) during the development of its Competition Policy and Law, and thanked UNCTAD for its support.

Mrs Olweny called for more support since competition law is a relatively new phenomenon in Botswana and as such some capacity gaps still exist and hamper effective and efficient implementation of the Competition Law and Policy.

She further said Botswana is reviewing the Consumer Protection Act of 1998 with a view to strengthen its implementation in the market place.

The IGE Session organised by UNCTAD discussed topics including Competition Policy and Public Procurement; Knowledge and Human Resource Management for Effective Competition Law Enforcement; as well as Cross-border Anticompetitive Practices and the Challenges for Developing Countries.

The Session also received reports on the Tripartite Peer Review of Competition Law and Policy in Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Chief Executive Officer of the Competition Authority Mr. Thula Kaira presented his report after peer-reviewing Tanzania’s Fair Competition Commission.

The Voluntary Peer Reviews of Competition law and Policy are conducted by UNCTAD at the annual meetings of the IGE on Competition Law and Policy. They fall within the framework of the set of Multilaterally Agreed Principles and Rules for the Control of restrictive Business Practices known as the United Nations Set of Principles and Rules on Competition.