THE Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC) on 30th March 2022 resolved to initiate an investigation against various private pathology laboratories and other providers of covid-19 testing services in terms of Section 33 of the Competition Act, 2003 (No. 2 of 2003) (“the Act”).
The investigation pertains to the alleged excessive pricing of Covid-19 tests.
The Commission has been receiving concerns from the public which suggest that the prices charged for the testing of Covid-19 at private facilities in Namibia since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, are exorbitant and may not fairly reflect the reasonable costs incurred in the procurement and administration of such tests.
“The Commission is of the view that unfair and unreasonably high prices for Polymerase Chain Reaction (‘’PCR’’) and Rapid Antigen testing for Covid-19 may have adverse effects on the Namibian public.
“It is further alleged that the uniformity in the pricing of Covid-19 testing at private facilities in Namibia suggests the possibility of existence of agreements and or concerted practices between parties in horizontal and or vertical relationships, to fix prices and or any other trading conditions. In the alternative, this uniformity further raises suspicion of there being a regulatory facilitation of collusion among competitors in the procurement, supply and administration of Covid-19 testing,” the Commission said in a statement last week.
Upon initiation of the investigation, the Commission has afforded concerned parties an opportunity to respond to the allegations within 30 days.