President Cyril Ramaphosa says he will soon sign the Competition Amendment Bill into law as part of efforts to increase investment and foster greater economic inclusion. Delivering his state of the nation address (Sona) in Parliament on Thursday, Ramaphosa said it had long been recognised that one of the constraints that inhibited the growth of the economy was the high level of economic concentration. “The structure of our economy was designed to keep assets in a few hands,” Ramaphosa said in his address. The aim of the bill, which was adopted by Parliament late in 2018, includes giving the competition authorities and government more power to tackle high levels of economic concentration. It is also meant to tackle the limited transformation of the economy and the abuse of market power by dominant firms. Opposition parties objected to various proposals in the bill, with criticism including that it gives too much power to the economic development minister. Various analysts have also r...

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.