Implementing competition law in Botswana: A formative analysis

This article, authored by Dr Gape Kaboyakgosi (Research Fellow at BIDPA), was published in a local newspaper and discusses aspects of the new Competition Law in Botswana. It posits that the recent legislating of the Botswana Competition Bill into law, as well as the appointment  of commissioners and subsequent gazetting of the Commission points towards the end of a long process of the reformation of aspects of Botswana’s microeconomic environment. It is tempting to imagine that the Law might address all the challenges facing the economy. Yet Competition Law is an important aspect of the transformation which was also the object of the Privatisation Policy (2000), the implementation which however has met numerous challenges to date. This article is a snap preview of matters that might face the Commission and the Authority. The article concludes that due to the many challenges that face the new Competition Law, bargaining between actors will be the most important regulatory tact to adopt especially in the nascent years of the implementation of the law. Click here, OR here to request for the full article.