Competition policy can open up SA’s economy, says Cyril Ramaphosa
Black people ‘found there was very little space to play so they bought up shares in existing companies and became appendages’
Competition policy is a great instrument to "undo the wrongs of the past and make our country a better place", Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday at the annual Competition Conference in Johannesburg. In the context of growing urgency for "radical economic transformation", competition policy — which outlaws collusion among firms and the abuse of dominance by large players — is increasingly seen by government as a tool to enable new, black entrants into the economy. SA’s economy is among the most highly concentrated in the world, with 70% of economic sectors dominated by a few big players, a recent study by the Competition Commission found. "Anticompetitive behaviour prevents the economy from realising its potential. Competition policy must effect fundamental economic and social change; it has a pivotal role to play in addressing the injustices of the past," he said. In the South African context, market dominance related not only to specific sectors but also to the econom...
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