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COMPETITION: Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) is now pursuing legal backing to begin investigating consumer-related issues it identifies in the markets for enhanced welfare of consumers of goods and services in the country.

In a draft Competition Amendment Bill 2024, the Authority hopes to bring more consumer cases under its purview to redress consumer concerns more effectively.

Currently, a consumer is required to lodge a complaint directly with the Authority to trigger an investigation, a model that is blamed for not serving the interest of the public and curtails the authority’s mandate execution.

With increased cases of unscrupulous entities purporting to be consumer bodies and defrauding Kenyans under the guise of enforcing consumer protection laws in the country, the authority also seeks to begin reviewing the work of consumer bodies.

The competition watchdog noted that consumer bodies play an integral role in enhancing the welfare of Kenyan consumers, including raising awareness about their rights and redress mechanisms.

Consumer bodies, it added in a statement, also serve as a critical link between consumers and the Authority during filing of complaints.

“Through the proposed accreditation process, the Authority will review the work of consumer bodies and publish a list of entities whose work and processes it acknowledges as being legitimate, enabling the public better appreciate the entities to work with,” the statement added.

The proposed amendment also creates an opportunity for the public to give input in the review of mergers that could raise competition and consumer welfare concerns.

The Authority proposes to introduce a requirement to publish merger notifications and invite the public to give their input when the merger is notified to it.

“This amendment will enhance the quality of our merger review process by considering more external information from stakeholders early in the merger review process. At the moment, the public only becomes aware of merger transactions after the Authority publishes its determination,” it added in the statement.