By:Nghiinomenwa-vali Erastus
From the pharmaceutical companies fixing prices, collusion on panel beating and short-term insurance companies agreeing to unintentionally collude, more anti-competitive behaviour is being reported to the country’s competition watchdog.
The latest is the property valuation sector where potential valuers have approached the Namibia Competition Commission (NaCC) to zoom in on the sector for anti-competitive behaviour.
In a statement released last Friday, the Commission said it has received six cases of anti-competitive behaviour, involving price fixing, colluding and exclusion. Some of these cases are being investigated, while others are before the country’s courts for adjudication.
The complaint received by NaCC detailed that current market conditions valuers compete in are not competitive as they do not allow for fair competition and there exist barriers to entry for newly graduated property valuers.
It is further alleged that “the barriers to entry exist through the requirements that valuers must meet in order to be placed on some of the bank valuers’ lists”.
The Commission reported thatsome complaints received is that several banks require prior experience, making it difficult for newly qualified valuers to enter the market as enlisting is the gateway to acquire the required experience.
Furthermore, it is alleged that the banks reject valuations conducted by valuers that are not employed at the respective banks or on their list of approved property valuers.
The implicated commercial banks are Bank Windhoek, First National Bank, Nedbank and Standard Bank, which sometimes make use of internal valuers to determine the estimated values of assets in property transactions.
It is, however, alleged that these commercial banks disregard valuations that are done by external valuers who are not part of the four commercial banks’ property valuers’ panels.
Following an assessed the complaints, the NaCC noted that there exist structural barriers to enter the market by virtue of the absence of the establishment and operationalisation of the Namibian Council for the Property Valuers Profession as provided for in terms of the Property Valuers Profession Act No.7 of 2012.
“The absence of the Council has led to the banks employing their own quality assurance measures as risk mitigation when it comes to property valuations,”the NaCC said.
The watchdog pointed out that the bankers’ measures are in the form of enlistment requirements that independent property valuers must comply with in order to perform property valuation work on behalf of the banks.
However, if the Council in terms of its powers and functions once operationalised, will be to serve as a central industry requirements determinant.
This will be in terms of both registration and designation of property valuers, as well as the education requirements that will be applicable to all prospective valuers.
The NaCC said, in the absence of the Council, market participants are principally the determinants of such requirements.
These requirements also vary according to each market participant, “and as such are alleged to currently impede the growth and entry into the said market,” the NaCC said.
The NaCC revealed that, by way of an advisory opinion, it has engaged the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform as the custodian of the Property Valuers Profession Act 2012, with a proposal on how to provide effective redress.
At the same time the NaCC has stated that it will be monitoring developments in the industry for possible anti-competitive practices which may thereafter come under competition law scrutiny.
“The Commission, therefore, reserves its rights to initiate an investigation of any possible anti-competitive practices in future, should the need arise,” the NaCC said in its statement.
Early this year, the Commission was asked to investigate the alleged anti-competitive behaviour in the poultry industry.
While Insurance giants Santam Namibia Limited (Santam) and Momentum Short-Term Insurance Limited (Momentum) have respectively, entered into settlement/consent agreements with the Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC).
In April this year, insurance giants Santam Namibia Limited and Momentum Short-Term Insurance Limited have respectively, entered into settlement/consent agreements with the NaCC after investigations into alleged anticompetitive behaviour concluded that these entities were engaged in exclusive agreements.
The Commission has also launched investigations into a possible exclusive “tripartite agreement” entered into between Nampower, Telecom Namibia and MTC for the lease and use of NamPower’s dark optic fibre infrastructure as the “joint operators”.
The NaCC investigation aims to determine whether the tripartite agreement entered into by the parties amounts to anti-competitive conduct.
The Commission early this year also instituted an investigation to determine whether offering administration services to umbrella pension funds and providing additional services such as consulting, actuarial, investment, and insurance was not in violation of the country’s competition laws. However, the NaCC cleared them of any wrongdoing after being accused of monopolising the industry.
Moreover, the Commission has made a final decision to institute Court proceedings against office automation equipment suppliers – Maxes Office Machinesand South African-based Riso Africa -for contravening the Namibian Competition Act.
The NaCC entered several settlement agreements with five pharmaceutical companies and one windscreen retailer after conclusion of its investigations into alleged anti-competitive behaviour.Email: erastus@thevillager.com.na
