NPA ‘toothless’ in tackling cartels
Judge Dennis Davis welcomes jail time for cartel members, but is concerned it may have an adverse effect
THE National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) does not have sufficient skills to prosecute cartel activity.This means that criminalising cartel conduct, with effect from May 2016, could undo the progress that’s been made by the competition authorities over the past several years, key speakers told delegates at the recently ended competition conference."I’ve no problem with cartelists going to jail," Dennis Davis, judge president of the Competition Appeal Court, told delegates at the Cape Town event. "Jail time would have a good deterrent effect; nothing would be better than sending some of these people to jail."Davis told delegates this would be appropriate given that the courts send poor people to prison for stealing a few bananas. But he said he was concerned about the adverse impact criminalisation would have on the Competition Commission’s corporate leniency programme.Davis said the programme had played a critical role in enabling the Competition Commission to prosecute cartel conduc...
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