JOHANNESBURG, August 3 (ANA) – The Competition Commission on Thursday carried out simultaneous and co-ordinated search and seizure raids at the premises of the Automatic Sprinkler Inspection Bureau (ASIB) in four provinces, as well as 25 fire control and protection services companies which are members of ASIB.
It was the largest number of premises raided in a cartel investigation in South Africa. The companies situated in the western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, and Gauteng, are involved in the supply, installation and maintenance of fire control and protection systems.
The commission said it had reasonable grounds to believe that the ASIB and its members have agreements and/or are engaged in a concerted practice to fix prices and trading conditions, divide markets and tender collusively.
ASIB members are required to adhere to various rules and standards which constitute an agreement to exclude non-members from the market who use legally prescribed and acceptable standards in the country i.e. the South African National Standards developed by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS).
The ASIB rules and standards involve, among others, that the installation of the fire control and protection equipment is reserved for ASIB members only to the exclusion of non-members, and that the ASIB prohibits its members from subcontracting work to non-members.
This is part of an ongoing investigation and prosecution in the sector which has already led to several Gauteng companies admitting to the conduct and settling with the commission.
“This investigation is particularly concerning because of the seemingly prominent role played by consulting engineering companies in facilitating this cartel as well as the confirmation of pervasiveness of cartels in the construction sector,” the commission’s spokesman, Sipho Ngwema, said.
The commission has already investigated a complaint in this industry, uncovering long standing collusive arrangements amongst fire control and protection systems companies. Several Gauteng companies have already admitted to engaging in collusion and have concluded settlement agreements with the commission.
– African News Agency (ANA)
