Your editorial about the Competition Commission chasing the pharmaceutical companies on their Covid test charges (Editorials, December 16-22) gives credence to what I have believed for quite a few years. The gargantuan fines dished out so readily by the commission smack more of a form of income for this delinquent government than a deterrent or punishment for greedy companies.
In years gone by it was rumoured that SA Revenue Service employees received a commission for bringing in money from errant taxpayers, and I wonder if the same applies to the Competition Commission. It certainly appears that way.
It is quite sad how the government has become so unethical. There’s no better example than not settling supplier invoices timeously and, better still, not paying their utility bills to municipalities and metros. Who would ever have predicted that?
Tony Ball
Gillitts
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