By ALICE NACHILEMBE
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) Board of Commissioners has fined Airtel Money and Farm Depot 3% of their respective annual turnovers for engaging in anti-competitive business practices.
The two companies were fined during the 59th Board of Commissioners meeting on the adjudication of cases held in Lusaka on December 5, 2022.
CCPC Public Relation Rainford Mutabi said 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.
Mr Mutabi said the Board of Commissioners found Airtel Money to be in contravention of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) No. 24 of 2010.
He said Airtel Money unfairly increased cash collection and cash disbursement fees among different sports betting companies as well as applying dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions.
Meanwhile, the Board of Commissioners has fined Farm Depot 3% of its annual turnover for engaging in a restrictive business practice of tying the purchase of Day-Old Chicks (DOCs) to buying chicken feed.
Mr Mutabi said investigations by the CCPC reveal that Farm Depot was imposing on its customers the condition of purchasing DOCs with zamfeed, master farmer, nutri feeds or novatek chicken feed.
He said 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.
