The Deputy Chairman of Committees of the Whole House, Hon Mkhondo Lungu, MP participated with seventy three (73) other Members of Parliament in a workshop organized by the Zambia Competition Commission (ZCC) on Monday, 26th October, 2009 in the Auditorium at Parliament Buildings

In his remarks during the opening of the workshop, the Executive Director of ZCC, Mr. Thula Kaira said that the objective of the workshop was to bring to the fore the work of the Zambia Competition Commission, the key provisions in the Competition and Fair Trading Act, CAP 417 of the Laws of Zambia, and how they relate to Zambia’s national economic development programs. The workshop had also been necessitated by the impending review of the current legislation, whose review process would be brought to the National Assembly. He urged Members to actively participate in the discussions after the presentations.

Presentations that were made during the Workshop were as follows: “Introduction to Zambia Competition Commission and the Competition and Fair Trading Act”; “Competition and Economic Development”; “Dealing with Monopolies and Dominant Firms”; and “Consumer Protection and Enforcement Challenges”.

Members of Parliament were informed that the ZCC was mandated under section (6) of the Act to, “monitor, control and prohibit business conducts that may adversely affect competition and fair trading in Zambia.” The Commission reported that it had formulated a Strategic Plan from 2008- 2011 to review and re-evaluate the role of the Commission in the economy. The Commission also cited challenges it faced such as budgetary constraints, being centralized in the capital city and lack of offices in the Provincial centers and lack of empowerment to impose administrative fines for any violations of the Act.

Among pertinent issues raised by Members of Parliament during discussions were those of fair competition in construction and maintenance of roads, in the Mining sector, the sugar industry, cement production and fuel refining.