On 17 November 2016, the South African Competition Tribunal (“Tribunal”) confirmed a settlement agreement reached between the Competition Commission and ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd (AMSA) with regards to AMSA’s involvement in the long steel and scrap metal cartels. The settlement covered four complaints against AMSA, three of which involved collusion in flat steel, long steel and scrap metal markets and the other on excessive pricing of flat steel products.
Maria Nkhonjera and Tatenda Zengeni
Since opening its doors in January 2013 the COMESA Competition Commission (CCC) has seen growth in the number of its merger cases. This growth followed a number of challenges initially faced with the interpretation of certain provisions of the Act, jurisdiction and high filing fees.
Tatenda Zengeni
The merger between Coca-Cola Sabco’s African bottling operations and SABMiller was recently approved by the COMESA Competition Commission, while it is still under review in some other countries such as South Africa. SABMiller is Coca-Cola’s biggest bottler in Africa with operations in 15 African countries.
Tatenda Zengeni and Genna Robb
The recent public outcry in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Nigeria over a decision by Multichoice to increase its subscription fees points again to the competition issues that characterise the pay-tv market in the continent. Due to high prices, subscribers in Zimbabwe have resorted to buying decoders and paying their subscription in South Africa, which is relatively cheaper.
