The Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Botswana Competition and Consumer Authority (CCA) to formalise its cooperation arrangement in the fields of competition law, enforcement and policy.

Speaking at the event in Windhoek on Tuesday, NaCC Chief Executive Officer Vitalis Ndalikokule stated that by signing this MoU, the competition authorities will promote competition in the two countries by addressing anti-competitive activities in accordance with the two countries’ laws and regulations in order to facilitate the development and operation of well-functioning markets in the two countries.

“Now that we are ready to sign or formalise the cooperation agreement between our competition agencies, let us remember that the benefits of a cooperation framework like this MoU will only be realised with good execution of the MoU,” he said.

Ndalikokule added that the implementation of the MoU will benefit all competition authorities as well as the two countries by creating a fair playing field in the market through competition.

CCA’s Chief Executive Officer, Tebelelo Pule stated that by signing the MoU, the two agencies are upholding the spirit of the SADC Declaration on Regional Cooperation in Competition and Consumer Policies, which advocates formalised and cross-border cooperation, as well as the SACU Regional Cooperation Framework on Competition Policy and Unfair Trade Practices.

“This MoU will help our two governments carry out their missions and accomplish their strategic objectives. We commit to sharing experiences in the practical enforcement of competition law; collaborative planning and start of investigations; and staff exchanges as we formalise our cooperation by signing this MoU today,” she said.

She stated that if these projects are effectively implemented in this spirit of cooperation, they will yield significant benefits for the two institutions and, by extension, the people of Botswana and Namibia.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency