THE Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) board of commissioners has fined Lafarge Zambia Plc and Mpande Limestone Limited 10 percent of their annual turnovers for the year 2019 and another 10 percent of their 2020 annual turnovers for price fixing and division of markets.
In a statement on Wednesday, however, CCPC senior public relations officer Namukolo Kasumpa stated that Dangote Cement Zambia Limited was granted full leniency for having cooperated with the Commission during investigations.
“The Board of Commissioners of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has fined Lafarge Zambia Plc and Mpande Limestone Limited 10 percent of their annual turnovers for the year 2019 and another 10 percent of their 2020 annual turnovers for price fixing and division of markets, while Dangote Cement Zambia Limited was granted full leniency for having cooperated with the Commission during investigations,” she stated.
Kasumpa stated that the board has further ordered the three companies to revert to the pre-cartel prices ranging between USD 4.50 – USD 5 for a period of one year from the date of receipt of the Board Decision.
“Further, the Board has ordered Lafarge Zambia Plc, Dangote Cement Zambia Limited and Mpande Limestone Limited to revert to the pre-cartel prices ranging between USD 4.50 – USD 5 for a period of one year from the date of receipt of the Board Decision pursuant to Section 59 (3) (b) of the Act. Additionally, that Lafarge Zambia Plc, Dangote Cement Zambia Limited, Mpande Limestone Limited submit monthly average ex-works prices and any price adjustments be indexed to the exchange rate and be submitted to the Commission for review pursuant to Section 58 (1) of the Act; The Board has also ordered the three Cement Companies to develop and implement compliance programmes in their respective firms within 90 days of receiving the Board Directive,” she stated.
“Furthermore, the Board has directed Lafarge Zambia PLC, Dangote Cement Zambia Limited and Mpande Limestone to make undertakings within 90 days of receiving the directive that their respective employees should not engage in any anti-competitive behaviour and that the enterprises should not facilitate and/or participate in any anti-competitive conduct including the exchange of information. The Board of Commissioners also dropped charges against Zambezi Portland Cement Limited after it was established that they were not part of the cement cartel.”
She added that the decision to fine Lafarge Zambia Plc and Mpande Limestone Limited was made during the 49th Board of Commissioners Meeting for the Adjudication of Cases held in Lusaka on 30th March 2021 after an exhaustive investigation by the Commission initiated in January 2020, following the Commission’s observations of a sustained increment of cement prices from an average of K55 to K100 per 50Kg bag between July 2019 and January 2020.
“The investigation which lasted for over one (1) year revealed that the parties shared price adjustment proposals seeking approval for price changes before the implementation date and in some cases before they were approved by their respective management. The exchange of commercially sensitive information on future prices and rebates demonstrated that there was a ‘meeting of minds’ among the Respondents to pursue an agreed objective. The investigation established that company representatives from Mpande Limestone Limited, Dangote Cement Zambia Limited and Lafarge Zambia Plc held discussions and meetings which resulted in the development of a pricing philosophy to stop cement price reductions. The investigations also established that the Cement Companies had agreed on a flat rebate of K3 sometime in December 2019,” stated Kasumpa.
