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Cape Town - The Competition Commission has already received about 50 applications for indemnity from prosecution from companies in the construction industry.
This was according to commissioner Shan Ramburuth at a press conference prior to the department of economic development’s budget speech.
At the beginning of February the commission sent an invitation to companies in the industry that had been guilty of tender and contract collusion to come forward voluntarily.
The idea behind the progamme is to speed up the industry clean-up, and it goes hand in hand with possible applications for leniency.
According to the commissioner, several applications had been received, especially requests for leniency.
This, he said, gave an idea of how many projects would be affected.
Ramburuth expects an increase in applications this week, the final one before the April 15 deadline .
He expressed concern that it was mainly larger companies that had submitted requests for leniency.
Sake24 previously reported that most of the 70 projects worth R29bn the commission was already investigating were state infrastructure projects.
These included the construction of the stadiums for the World Cup soccer tournament, the upgrading of the country’s airports, the upgrading of highways across the country and the toll road system in Gauteng, as well as the construction of hospitals, dams and bridges.
Ramburuth said the commission had recently experienced a gradual increase in its workload.
From an annual average of 200 mergers for the previous two financial periods, in the past financial year to end-March the number had run to about 300.
Complaints had more or less doubled, with about 240 having been received in the period.
But he reckoned there had been a dramatic increase in applications for leniency for uncompetitive behaviour.
Over the past two years more than 100 had been received.
- Sake24
For business news in Afrikaans, go to Sake24.com.
This was according to commissioner Shan Ramburuth at a press conference prior to the department of economic development’s budget speech.
At the beginning of February the commission sent an invitation to companies in the industry that had been guilty of tender and contract collusion to come forward voluntarily.
The idea behind the progamme is to speed up the industry clean-up, and it goes hand in hand with possible applications for leniency.
According to the commissioner, several applications had been received, especially requests for leniency.
This, he said, gave an idea of how many projects would be affected.
Ramburuth expects an increase in applications this week, the final one before the April 15 deadline .
He expressed concern that it was mainly larger companies that had submitted requests for leniency.
Sake24 previously reported that most of the 70 projects worth R29bn the commission was already investigating were state infrastructure projects.
These included the construction of the stadiums for the World Cup soccer tournament, the upgrading of the country’s airports, the upgrading of highways across the country and the toll road system in Gauteng, as well as the construction of hospitals, dams and bridges.
Ramburuth said the commission had recently experienced a gradual increase in its workload.
From an annual average of 200 mergers for the previous two financial periods, in the past financial year to end-March the number had run to about 300.
Complaints had more or less doubled, with about 240 having been received in the period.
But he reckoned there had been a dramatic increase in applications for leniency for uncompetitive behaviour.
Over the past two years more than 100 had been received.
- Sake24
For business news in Afrikaans, go to Sake24.com.
