South Africa: Gov to cooperate on competition law with Russia and Kenya

Earlier this month, South Africa reached agreements with Russia and Kenya to cooperate on enforcing competition law. At the Annual Competition Law, Economics and Policy Conference in Cape Town, South Africa’s Competition Commission signed Memoranda of Understanding with its Kenyan and Russian equivalents, the Competition Authority of Kenya and the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation. The non-binding MOUs are designed to exchange technical assistance and promote cooperation on a range of competition policy issues, including enforcement and merger review.

These MOUs are part of a trend towards increased cooperation in competition law enforcement in Africa. The number of countries or regional blocs on the continent with competition laws jumped to 32 in 2015, from just 13 in 2000.

In the past few years, African countries have entered more frequently into agreements with one another, usually aimed at cross-border enforcement, information sharing and mitigating regulatory conflict across jurisdictions. South Africa has been a particularly active collaborator:

Since 2015, its Competition Commission has signed agreements with Brazil, India, China, and the European Commission’s Director-General Competition—and now, Russia and Kenya.

These collaborative agreements are an important step towards ensuring that African countries can more efficiently combat anti-competitive practices. Ultimately, better enforcement is crucial for achieving a range of social policy and development goals in Africa.

Full Content: The National Law Journal

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