导读：世界银行上周发布报告指出，若是非洲能有效实施反垄断法，将能够大举改善其贫困现状，并为经济的可持续发展铺路。目前非洲的食品、水泥、化肥以及电信市场皆极度缺少竞争，价格普遍高于世界平均水平。因此，若是相关竞争政策能够出台并且有效实施，将有助于改善非洲的贫穷状况。
The effective enforcement of competition law in Africa could lift thousands out of poverty and set the continent’s economies on the path to sustainable development, according to a World Bank report released last week.
The report, entitled “Breaking Down Barriers”, looks at the current state of competition enforcement across Africa and was produced in collaboration with The African Competition Forum – a network of the continent’s competition authorities. It highlights the markets for staple foods, fertiliser, concrete and telecommunication in particular as suffering from a lack of competition.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2015–2016, 78 percent of African countries rank in the bottom half of countries globally for local competition.
Prices for foods such as white rice, flour and milk are at least 24 percent higher in African cities than in the rest of the world, the report said. A price reduction of only 10 percent could lift half a million people out of poverty in Kenya, South Africa and Zambia alone, and free an additional $700 million in disposable income per year in those markets.
The World Bank says more competition can help reduce economic pressure on consumers who pay a high percentage of their income on staple produce and help build economies that benefit local producers.
But this is undermined by the monopolies and oligopolies dominating key industries such as fertiliser, concrete and telecommunications, which are important for economic development.
In 27 African countries, the report claims, single telecoms operators hold at least 50 percent market shares. In 11 countries, monopolies dominate the provision of international telephony and wireless internet services.
Last year, Sub-Saharan Africa had the highest prices for mobileinternet services in the world, and the second-lowest level of internet use.
According to the report, cement prices are 183 percent higher in Africa than average world prices. Just nine companies dominate the majority of Africa’s cement industry. In 18 African countries, one player controls at least half the market. The report estimates that the introduction and enforcement of pro-competitive policies and the removal of non-tariff barriers to trade could save consumers $2.5 billion a year.
What’s more, export cartels in the fertiliser industry have increased prices by 29 percent in sub-saharan Africa, the report said. In 58 percent of African countries, the market is dominated by a single company. Only 28 percent of African countries can produce their own fertiliser. Improved public procurement practices, market intelligence and the removal of import restrictions could have a dramatic effect on the market, the report said.
Martha Martinez Licetti, the report’s co-author and lead economist for the World Bank Group’s Trade & Competitiveness Global Practice, said more needs to be done to promote competition across Africa.
“Looking to the future, there is a need to prioritize resources and use the powers and tools available to competition authorities more effectively in order to continue raising the relevance of competition policy within the broader development agenda,” Licetti said.
Since the turn of the millennium, the status of competition authorities across Africa has dramatically improved. There are now 25 functioning national competition authorities in Africa, and the number of countries with competition laws has tripled since 2000; after years of delays,Nigeria appears on the brink of enacting its first competition laws.
New transnational organizations such as the East African African Community, the Common Market for Eastern & Southern Africa and the Economic Community Of West African States all have specific competition provisions written into their membership rules. However, the African Union – the largest of the four – does not.
Klaus Tilmes, director of the World Bank’s Trade & Competitiveness Global Practice, said there is the potential to make better use of this emerging network of African enforcers, especially in industries with continent-wide supply chains.
“There is scope for national and regional competition authorities to increase their impact by taking a regional perspective,” Tilmes said.
“We hope this analysis will raise awareness of the achievements made in Africa, stimulate debate on how to address the remaining challenges, and reinforce the case for strengthening competition policy across the region,” Tilmes said.
Tamara Dini at Bowman Gilfillan in Cape Town said the report is inline with what practitioners see in their casework.
There are ongoing investigations into cement and fertiliser in Kenyaand Zambia. The report highlighted the need for authorities to work together. Dini said in some cases this has already happened.
“These industries have also undergone vigorous scrutiny by the competition authorities in South Africa and it is interesting to note that, as part of an advocacy outreach, the South African Competition Commission provided training to the Competition Authority of Kenya, including in relation to search and seizure operations,” Dini said.
Heather Irvine at Falcon & Hume Attorneys in Johannesburg said while there are problems in specific markets, many authorities still lack the tools needed to enforce the law.
“Very few African jurisdictions have implemented corporate leniency policies, and although there have been some successful cartel prosecutions in South Africa,very few other African regulators are able to detect cartels and successfully prosecute them,” Irvine said.
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