The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has cleared millers of allegations suggesting that had formed a cartel to control mealie-meal prices.
This follows findings after CCPC conducted investigations on whether millers had formed a cartel to fix mealie meal prices in the country but revealed to the contrary.
CCPC executive director Chilufya Sampa said in an interview on Monday that the commission is still reviewing the market to determine whether a cartel was formed.
“The millers investigations were on the cartel and preliminary investigations that we conducted didn’t find anything on the suspected members of the millers. The commission did not find any evidence, however we are still reviewing the market to ascertain if there is any possibility of a cartel,” he said.
Mr Sampa said the commission has noticed that cartel cases are on the increase, and has since intensified investigations by monitoring activities in all key sectors of the economy.
“So far, 10 cases are being investigated with one dawn raid [A dawn raid is done early in the morning, so by the time the target realises it’s being attacked, it’s too late] being conducted in the poultry sub-sector,” he said.
On bid-rigging, Mr Sampa said CCPC has been taking part in several sensitisations to promote competitive bidding and tendering processes which are an integral part in curtailing bid-rigging.
The commission was part of sensitisation activities for professional associations, namely the Law Association of Zambia, Bankers Association of Zambia and the Zambia institute of Purchasing and Supply.
