Parliament passes draft law on Competition

Luanda, ANGOLA, March 20 - Angolan parliament unanimously approved Monday the Proposed Law on Competition, which aims to promote the competitiveness of the various economic agents and the efficiency in the allocation of factors of production and distribution of goods and services.,

Approved with 183 votes of the Members present, the Bill will now be scrutinized in the specialty. It establishes the creation of the Competition Regulatory Authority, which shall prevent and punish the actions of economic agents that are not in compliance with the rules and principles of competition.

In presenting the document to the MPs, Minister of Finance Archer Mangueira stressed that any situation of unfair competition is not a pleasant situation, especially in a system like that of Angola, based on the market economy.

He clarified that the basic principles of the competition authority's conduct are based on exemption, impartiality, conflict prevention and the public interest criterion.

The proposed Competition Law aims to introduce, for the first time in the Angolan legal system, a system of defense, through a law that integrates principles and rules of sound competition, morality and ethics.

The objective, according to the report joint opinion of specialized committees of work of the National Assembly, is to promote the competitiveness of economic agents and efficiency in the allocation of factors of production and distribution of goods and services.

MP Makuta Nkondo, also from CASA-CE, augurs a law that could reduce prices, considering the situation of most Angolan families unsustainable because of the high prices of basic products.

On the other hand, MP Lucamba Gato of UNITA believes that this bill is welcome, "because it comes at a critical moment that affects the national economy, partly as a result of the monopolies that strangle the economic system."

The Proposal of the Competition Law, a legislative initiative of the President of the Republic, as the Head of the Government, has a preamble part and another operative part, systematized in eight chapters, four sections and 56 articles.

The Ordinary Plenary Meeting of the 1st Legislative Session of the IV  Legislature of the National Assembly chaired  by the Speaker of National Assembly, Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos, also approved with amendments the draft resolution of the Regulation of Specialized Work Committees of the House of Laws.

 

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