Presentation to Consumer Goods Council of South Africa Shan Ramburuth Commissioner: Competition Comm

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Strategic planning and prioritisation Presentat
ion to the 3rd annual conference on Competition
Law, Economics and Policy in South Africa Shan
Ramburuth Commissioner, Competition Commission 4
September 2009
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Introduction

• Background
• Changes to the external and internal environment
• The strategic planning process
• Implementation of the strategic plan
• Strategic Plan 2010 - 2013

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Commissions priorities 2000 to 2005
Tribunal hearing days, for cases taking more than
one day
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Why strategic planning?

• Increased work load
• Legal challenges more sophisticated
• Governments growth strategy
• The dtis competition policy review
• High staff turnover
• Loss of institutional memory

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The strategic planning process

• Assessing the external internal operating
  environment
• Stakeholder perceptions and expectations
• Consultation with executive management staff
• Implementing the strategy
• Reviewing the strategy

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Strategic priorities for 2006 - 2009

• Staff morale motivation 
• Align structure work processes to strategic
  priorities
• The Commission as a centre of information,
  knowledge expertise
• Approach methodology to prioritization
• Advocacy communication 

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Staff morale motivation

• Motivation and turnover
• Competitive salaries
• Recruitment
• Performance management system
• Learning and development
• Human resource policies
• Return of ex-employees
• Deloittes Best company to work for in public
  sector

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Align structure work processes to strategy

• Working in silos
• Clarification of roles and responsibilities,
  functional synergies, and resource requirements
• Interdivisional work teams created
• Decision-making structures streamlined
• Expanding the organisation
• Change management
• Managing teams

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The Commission as centre of expertise knowledge
management

• Commission is a knowledge intensive organisation
• Improved management and sharing of information
• Knowledge management coordinator appointed
• Technology and infrastructure put in place (case
  management system and share point server)
• Training and capacity building to effectively use
  technology
• Culture of information sharing and knowledge
  management

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Approach methodology to prioritisation

• Need for a coherent approach to deal with
  anticompetitive market structures and practices
• Direct resources to high impact and strategic
  areas
• Prosecutorial discretion
• Transparency and consistency in decision-taking
• Commission developed framework for prioritizing
  sectors and cases

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Criteria for prioritisation

• Impact on consumers
• Cost of doing business
• Economic growth and development
• Competition experience

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Priority sectors

• Agro-processing and food
• Infrastructure and construction
• Intermediate industrial products
• Financial services

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Priority sector Agro-processing and food

• Affects all consumers, particularly the poor
• SA agriculture has high levels of concentration -
  trading, storage of grain (wheat, maize),
  processing (milling, baking of bread)
• Investigations/prosecutions in relation to silo
  storage, bread, dairy, retail supermarkets,
  fishing, and poultry
• Complaints also under investigation in forestry
  and sawmilling

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Priority sector Infrastructure and construction

• Infrastructure investments exceeds R400 billion
• Inputs into the construction sector are generally
  highly concentrated
• Price increases of inputs exceed producer and
  consumer inflation
• Anti-competitive behaviour increases costs to
  government
• Investigations underway in cement, steel, bricks
  and aggregates
• Increase in CLP applications in construction,
  especially bid-rigging  

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CLPs over time by sector
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Priority sector Intermediate industrial
products

• Includes basic chemicals and basic metal products
  which form key inputs to diversified manufactured
  products
• High concentration levels and/or dominant firms
  resulting in ineffective or no competition
• Uncompetitive pricing of products such as steel,
  aluminium and polymer chemicals means cheap
  production costs are not passed on to more labour
  intensive downstream activities
• Investigations underway in steel, polymers and
  chemicals

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Priority sector Financial services

• Concentration was high in almost all banking
  product categories with little evidence of
  rivalry between the four largest banks
• Public concern regarding the level of bank
  charges
• Incidence of costs falling heavily on low income
  customers and small businesses
• Held a banking enquiry to look at issues in
  retail banking
• Report released in December 2008 with 28
  recommendations
• Implementation requires regulatory changes
• Steering committee - Treasury, SARB, the dti and
  Commission

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Effective advocacy communication

• Improving dialogue with policy makers
• Broadening participation by stakeholders
• Effectively communicating the Commissions work
• Developed a communication strategy and advocacy
  strategy
• Increased interaction with stakeholders, in
  particular government departments
• Profile of Commission increased in media

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Strategic planning for 2010 - 2013

• The global economic crisis
• The Competition Amendment Act
• Strategic engagement opportunities
• Increasing expectations
• Continued organisational growth and expansion
• Empowering middle management
• Leading and managing change
• Information and knowledge management

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Going forward Strategic priorities

• Achieved demonstrable outcomes in the economy
  impact assessment, evaluation of interventions,
  criteria for prioritisation
• Improved competitive environment for economic
  activity proactive engagement, dialogue and
  advocacy
• Realised high performance competition regulatory
  agency organisational integrity, efficient and
  effective business processes closely aligned to
  strategy

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• Thank you!
• Tel [phone]
• Fax[phone]
• email shanr_at_compcom.co.za

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