Kenya’s competition watchdog expressed concern on Tuesday about the wider economic effect of the tough line on dominant operator Safaricom that legislators and the country’s telecoms regulator had taken, saying no action was needed. SA’s Vodacom owns 35% in Safaricom with the Kenyan government and the UK’s Vodafone also holding stakes. “Any regulation focusing on the [telecoms] sector should have a multi-agency approach, because its effects would cut across all the drivers of the economy,” said Wang’ombe Kariuki, director-general of the Competition Authority. Kariuki said the Competition Authority had not found any evidence that Safaricom, which has a 67% market share, had abused its dominance. “Any regulatory intervention should be aimed at supporting and increasing consumer welfare and at no time should regulatory intervention have an object of deepening private shareholders’ gains,” he added. Safaricom has been found guilty in the past of entering restrictive agreements with its ...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.