Ndaba Gaolathe Warns Botswana’s Competition Rules May Be Falling Short

Botswana’s competition safeguards are under scrutiny after Vice President and Minister of Finance Ndaba Gaolathe warned that gaps in enforcement could leave room for concentrated ownership, price coordination and alleged manipulation of government tenders. Speaking at the Local Authorities Budget Pitso in Maun last Tuesday, Gaolathe called for stronger institutions and more forceful enforcement. He argued that the country needs a level playing field for businesses and questioned whether current competition bodies have enough capacity to deal with anti-competitive conduct. “If our anti-competitive infrastructure or framework or our institutions’ competition boards were robust and capacitated, then we shouldn’t have the same person owning the same franchise,” Gaolathe said, according to the source. He added that the framework should be strengthened and more effort put into enforcing it. The minister also raised concerns about medicine procurement, alleging that suppliers could coordinate to influence prices, markets and tender outcomes. His remarks placed attention on whether businesses can gain too much control over particular sectors, potentially limiting opportunities for competitors and reducing pressure to keep prices competitive. The source notes that owning several outlets under one franchise is not automatically unlawful. But Gaolathe’s comments suggest concern about how concentrated ownership might affect competition when a small number of operators hold significant influence in a market. Botswana’s Competition and Consumer Authority is responsible for investigating practices such as price-fixing, market allocation, bid-rigging and abuse of dominance. It can also conduct inquiries when competition appears to be restricted or distorted. Gaolathe’s intervention pointed to a broader question: whether existing rules are enough without well-resourced institutions able to apply them. The source says his remarks suggest the government may consider tighter scrutiny of market concentration and franchise ownership, alongside stronger action against suspected collusion. No specific policy changes were announced in the article.