Chilima to step in to ensure progress on CFTC reforms

State Vice President, Dr. Saulos Chilima, has said he will step in on reforms to amend the Competition and Fair Trading Act which aims at improving the Act’s enforcement.

Writing on his facebook page after meeting the Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC) management on 14th September 2020, Chilima said they have assured the Commission that he will step in to ensure that progress is fast tracked to achieve effective, consistent and harmonised law enforcement.

“CFTC’s presentation was easy to follow and clearly outlined a portrait of their state of affairs as an institution as well as the organization’s financial health showing a healthy working capital as well as an upward trend in equity which was encouraging,” wrote Chilima.

CFTC—a public protector on trade and commerce – is mandated to regulate, monitor, control and prevent acts or behaviour which are likely to adversely affect competition and fair trading in Malawi—is implementing legal, regulatory and legislative reforms. The Commission is also implementing reforms to achieve financial sustainability in the long run.

Chilima added that they have taken note of the reforms and for now what remains for CFTC is to go full throttle with implementation with clear roadmaps, timelines and project leads.

Among others, the CFTC is reviewing Competition and Fair Trading Regulations for easy operationalization, enforcement and implementation of the CFTA. The Commission is also developing an integrated information management system. This is aimed at digitizing the Commission’s processes, improving access for customers to the Commission’s services, enhance efficiency in information management, improve quality of decisions, and improve information sharing between the Commission and other stakeholders.