Namibia and Botswana have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote competition in the two countries by addressing anti-competitive activities.
The MoU signed between the Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC) and the Competition and Consumer Authority (CCA) in Botswana will see the regulators working together in terms of competition law and enforcement and policy.
NaCC CEO, Vitalis Ndalikokule said the MoU seeks to establish a framework for cooperation in order to effectively enforce competition laws in both Namibia and Botswana.
“In the context of this MoU, the competition authorities will promote competition in the two countries by addressing anti-competitive activities in accordance with the laws and regulations of our respective countries in order to facilitate the development and operation of well-functioning markets in our countries. The competition authorities will cooperate with and provide assistance to each other to the extent consistent with the laws and regulations of our respective countries,” Ndalikokule said.
Ndalikokule said the two authorities informally cooperated on several competition matters over the years therefore it only made sense to have an MoU when the idea was brought up at a joint meeting in 2022.
“At that meeting, the Legal Teams from the two authorities were tasked to come up with a draft Memorandum of Understanding for consideration by the two authorities. That is why we are here today (Tuesday) to formalise the cooperation arrangement between our competition authorities based on the MoU that was drafted by our legal teams” said Ndalikokule
The CEO of the CCA, Tebelelo Pule said the two entities share a common goal in ensuring that all consumers benefit from competitive and fair markets in their respective countries.
“Through this historic MoU, our agencies are further extending the excellent bilateral relations that exist between our two countries. The CCA and the NaCC have a common goal of ensuring competitive and fair markets for the benefit of consumers in our respective countries. This MoU will assist our two authorities to execute their mandates, and achieve their strategic goals,” Pule said.
The competition regulators also committed to joint planning of investigations, staff exchanges as well as sharing practical enforcement of competition law experiences.
