The planned merger of the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) is progressing but not at a fast pace.

The merger, which was announced as far back as June 2018 to create a single public body to execute the functions of consumer protection and competition law enforcement, has been limping along with outstanding legislations among other things still to be done before the merger can happen.

Since 2019, the Public Sector Transformation Unit (PSTU), which has identified the CAC and the FTC, as among those public sector entities to be transformed, has been working with both entities to effect the merger.

The PSTU has been working with the government commissions, primarily through a Steering Committee, which also includes representatives of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries to create the new entity. FTC Executive Director, David Miller reports that as of March 2020, much work has been done to bring the new entity into being.

Major hurdles to overcome to effect the merger

In the FTC’s recently completed Strategic Business Plan 2021 – 2025, Miller reports that the Steering Committee is managing the process from all angles giving due consideration to legislation hurdles to overcome, financial issues as well as human resource issues. Regarding the legislative hurdles, Miller reported, “Legislative and underlying governance issues must be addressed through legislation.”

The work to be undertaken includes creating new legislation and amending both the FCA and the Consumer Protection Act (CPA). Miller argued that this work is of significance to the new entity’s functioning as both the FTC and the CAC are separate statutory bodies that enforce statutes.

The FTC enforces the Fair Competition Act while the CAC enforces the Consumer Protection Act. The FTC executive director also cited human resource issues, which must first be sorted out to bring the merger into reality. He made specific mention of the transitioning of staff from existing entities to the new merged entity.

As it regards to financial issues, Miller highlighted the fact that each entity maintains its own financial and accounting records and internal controls pointing to certain Information Communication Technology (ICT) needs noting that both entities generally have similar needs, but there are differences with respect to data management.

In terms of change management, Miller advised that managing the staff’s concerns, needs, and expectations in their present situation and assisting them as they move into the new entity is much needed.

As such, the FTC boss explained that the creation of the new entity, that is, the merged FTC/CAC, is being treated as a priority over the amendments to the FCA and the creation of the merger review regime. “Accordingly, work on the last two items is awaiting the completion of the legislation for the new entity,” Miller explained.