Ministry of Finance is expected to soon issue notification for extension in tenure of the Members of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) to ensure smooth working of the commission for taking action against the cartels and companies involved in collusive behaviour/deceptive marketing practices.
A senior government official told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that the Finance Ministry would issue the notification following approval of the competent authority for extension in the tenure of the CCP members. Hopefully, the CCP would hear the good news about the extension in the tenure of the CCP members, sources added.
Since her appointment, Chairperson Rahat Kaunain Hassan has shown remarkable performance during 2010 while taking action in major cases of cartelization and companies involved in other violations of the competition laws. With the expected extension in the tenure of CCP members, Rahat would be in a position to further protect rights of consumers and general public by maintaining current pace of actions against such violations of the competition laws.
The considerable delay in the extension/appointment of the Members of the CCP is seriously hampering working of the commission in legal and judicial matters. Ministry of Finance has yet not extended the contracts of CCP members whose summaries were moved by the commission to the Finance Ministry in August 2010. Despite passage of 5-6 months, the Finance Ministry has yet not notified the extension. Even in current circumstances the CCP is trying its level best to take action against the cartels and companies involved in collusive behaviour under the relevant provisions of the Competition Laws.
As the CCP believes in team work efforts within the given legal framework, the early extension in the extension/appointment of members is necessary without further delay. The Commission currently comprise three members including the Chairperson. One Member Abdul Ghaffar completed his first term on October 2, 2010, while Dr Joseph Wilson completed his first term on December 12, 2010.
The Commission has sent summary of extension in services of these Members to the Ministry of Finance, but the Ministry has so far not issued their extension notifications. The commission has also moved a summary to the Finance Ministry for appointment of Director General Legal and Corporate Affairs Department Ikram ul Haq Quershi as CCP Member.
Apart from these two Members there are two senior CCP officials including the Chairperson Rahat Kaunain Hassan and Ms Vadiyya Khalil. The Competition Act allows for five to seven Members to be appointed in the Commission, however, in case their number is less than five it does not create any legal ambiguity. The proposed extension in the terms of office of the Members would strengthen the Commission.
As a result of delay in the appointment/extension of CCP members, the working of the commission has been adversely affected. In the absence of powers of the CCP members, the commission may face serious problems in pursing its cases in courts. There is an immediate need to extend the contracts of the CCP members to ensure smooth working of the commission without legal complications.
The government had clearly indicated its commitment to the competition law and extended its full support to the sustainability of the CCP. Therefore, the Finance Ministry would issue the notifications on the extension of tenure of said members, sources said.
Once the members would have legal backing, the CCP would be in a better position to demonstrate its autonomy to improve compliance and discourage anti-competitive behaviour among the business community. The business and trade has already showed better level of compliance as a result of enforcement orders of the CCP.
The CCP authorities wanted the government to extend the tenure of the members of the Competition Commission, which is to expire by November 2010 for further three years. According to the CCP Chairperson, she is a team player - her team is her strength and it is the same team she had been working with for the last three years, therefore, this gives her strength to go forward. Therefore, extension in the tenure of CCP members is very necessary.
Comments
Comments are closed.