Passing a competition law is a futile gesture and waste of money

'However, some respondents from the business sector (including some small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have expressed concerns that although the aim of such a [competition] law is to maintain a competitive environment, SMEs may become targets of complaints when the law is in place.'

Government press release,

March 19

SHOCK AND HORROR. A law to enforce competition between companies may mean that some companies find themselves targeted by this law. We can't have that.

And we probably won't have it, given the enforced veneration that our bureaucrats have for small and medium enterprises. I think they are now required to chant 'SME' even more frequently than 'Cepa' in their public rituals. Everything has an SME angle these days and so will this competition law. It will have an SME exemption, count on it.

There will be others. You may have heard of the proposal that there be an exemption for mergers and acquisitions. As I have remarked before, this would be like passing a law against stealing with exemptions for robbers, thieves, burglars, pickpockets and investment bankers. The idea should have got a straight horse laugh but instead it got a hearing and our bureaucrats seem to treat it seriously.

So let me tell you what we will get if we pass this competition law. We will get a Competition Commission to uphold this law and it will be just like all its fellows - the Office of the Ombudsman, the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Privacy Commission, and the like - a futile gesture and a waste of public money.