Nairobi, Kenya - A new law charged with governing competition in the country will come into effect on July 1, the Government announced last week.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Uhuru Kenyatta said last week under the new law an autonomous competition regulation body will also be formed to oversee issues related to competition.
"The Government has reviewed the competition law we have been operating under and enacted a modern
legislation, the Competition Act, 2010. We expect that it shall commence on July 1, 2011," said Kenyatta while officiating at the First African Competition Conference in Nairobi.
"The law is premised on international best practice while appreciating our level of development."
He said the autonomous competition agency to be known as the Competition Authority of Kenya, will be independent in order to be effective and will be mandated to oversee a wide range of competition aspects.
"It covers all generic issues of competition regulation, including mergers and acquisitions, abuse of dominance and control of restraints in trade while providing consumer protection," he said.
Kenyatta noted that to be effective the country's competition agencies would have to be equipped with the appropriate budgetary allocations and human resources.
"We are aware that the mere establishment of competition legislation is not a panacea to anticompetitive behaviour," he said.
The conference brought together heads of competition agencies from 27 countries in Africa.
It seeks to raise awareness and promote support for development of a strong competition regime in Africa and share information on good practice in competition law enforcement and to collaborate in building institutional and research capacity in the competition field throughout the continent.
Mr. Kenyatta challenged the forum to mobilise and harness ideas on the most effective way of collaborating and networking, building capacity and creating awareness and bringing them to bear positively on various facets of competition regulation in Africa and its respective national economies.
At the height of Kenya's mobile telephony price wars last year, operators traded accusations over unfair competition practices with others countering that the competition laws were not clearly defined.
The energy sector has also seen oil marketers trade accusations over unfair market practices.
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