Competition Board probe continues

THE SIX-MONTH investigation of a number of SA’s multi-national freight forwarding operations by the competition authorities – where price fixing for fuel and other surcharges is under scrutiny – still continues. It started last October, when a high-profile series of raids was made on a number of leading global freight forwarders - led by the SA Competition Commission (CC) in this country, but conducted in conjunction with the European Commission (EC) and the US Department of Justice. Among the companies named in the international probe were Kuehne & Nagel, Panalpina and Schenker. These raids were almost immediately followed by the CC proposing changes to its Corporate Leniency Policy (CLP) – designed to make it a more effective tool in the fight against cartels, which were seen as one of the most serious contraventions of the Competition Act. The leniency programme offers total or partial immunity to cartel members assisting the competition authorities in identifying and prosecuting cartels. This, said Thulani Kunene, manager for the CC’s enforcements and exemptions division, added a weapon in the fight against cartels. Andre van Rensburg, MD of Kuehne & Nagel in SA, told FTW: “There is no way there is any collusion in SA. The competition is just too strong.” His company happily opened all its books for perusal by the authorities. “We had nothing to hide,” he said. But the CC is still continuing its probe, according to spokeswoman, Mandi Mokoena. “The investigations are still on-going,” she told FTW – and added that they had originally been prompted by a whistle-blower in the freight industry, who had contacted the commission under the conditions of the corporate leniency policy.