Competition Authority Signs MoU with CIPA

The Competition Authority (CA) and the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) today (16^th June 2016) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which formalises cooperation between the two institutions.

Through the MoU, CA and CIPA pledge to cooperate and share relevant information and communicate regularly on matters of common interest to enable ease of doing business in Botswana. They also pledge to share available resources and conduct joint training and workshops for awareness creation.

Speaking at the signing ceremony this morning, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Competition Authority, Mrs. Tebelelo Pule, said the MoU will assist the CA in fast-tracking mergers assessment and investigations through the ease of obtaining information on companies from CIPA.

Pule noted that it has not been easy for the CA to access information when assessing mergers and during the conduct of investigations. “The Competition Authority will now have direct access and information about these companies,” she said.

Pule further said the MoU will also help in saving costs and resources spent in the collection of information. Pule made an assurance that the MoU will not affect the confidentiality of information of the parties that deal with the two institutions, noting that the Competition Act is very explicit in the confidentiality of information.

For his part, the Registrar General of CIPA Mr. Conductor Masena, said the two organisations have a symbiotic relationship which, if properly nurtured, can assist Botswana to attain its economic development aspirations, and sustainably drive the economic development agenda for the benefit of Batswana.

“In furtherance of both institutions’ mandates the mergers and acquisitions that have been approved by the Competition Authority have to be registered with CIPA as company amalgamations and also as a record of company shareholding. Moreover the CA has to request companies to provide copies of their registration documents, issued by the Registrar of Companies at CIPA to ascertain the legitimacy of their registration and to ensure that proper shareholding information is provided prior to the merger or acquisition.”

This, Masena said, clearly demonstrates the interdependency of the CIPA and the CA. He further said the MoU will go a long way in ensuring accuracy of data provided by businesses and enhancing data integrity.

The MoU with CIPA has brought to seven the number of public oversight institutions that the Competition Authority has signed MoUs with. The others are the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC), the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB), the Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana (CAAB), the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA), the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) and the Bank of Botswana.