For engaging in anti-competitive business activities, THE Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) fined Airtel Money and Farm Depot 3% of their yearly turnovers.
Farm Depot received a fine for using restrictive business methods, while Airtel received one for acting in a discriminatory manner.
The two enterprises were penalized at the 59th Board of Commissioners meeting on the adjudication of cases, which was conducted in Lusaka on December 5, this year, according to a statement from CCPC Public Relations Officer Rainford Mutabi.
“According to CCPC’s investigations, it was established that Airtel Money had engaged in discriminatory conduct by charging different fees to players in the betting and gaming markets. The Board of Commissioners found Airtel Money to be in contravention of Sections (16) (1),16 (2) (a) and 16 (2) (c) of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) Number 24 of 2010, as they unfairly increased cash collection and cash disbursement fees among different sports betting companies as well as applying dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions,” he said.
The purchase of Day-Old Chicks (DOCS) was tied to the purchase of chicken feed, he claimed, and Farm Depot was penalized with a fine equal to three percent of its yearly revenue.
“Investigations by the CCPC reveal that Farm Depot was imposing on its customers the condition of purchasing DOCS with either zamfeed, master farmer, nutri feeds or novatek chicken feed. The Board of Commissioners found Farm Depot to have contravened Sections 16 (1), 16 (2)(a) and 16(2)(d) as read together with Section 15 of the Act. Farm Depot has since been directed to desist from making the purchase of DOCS with chicken feed mandatory,” he said.
