A single regulatory coordinator, under the Competition Commission, was being considered by the South African government to enhance consistency and quality of regulation, Minister in The Presidency Collins Chabane said on Friday.

The announcement was met with enthusiasm and surprise among the observers, some of whom believe that many of South Africa's economic regulators are underperforming.

One commentator cautioned, though, that a similar initiative had been pursued in 2002. But that coordinating body, known as the Regulators' Forum, seemingly became ineffective.

"There is a real problem with ‘regulating the Regulators' and there are serious conflicts, not only where both regulators have jurisdiction over a complaint, but also where sector regulations require members of their sector to do things that are contrary to the Competition Act," explained Deneys Reitz competition law associate Rosalind Lake.

"I am a huge advocate for the ‘super regulator' like they have in Australia, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. It enhances communication between regulators, and prevents contradictory decisions and regulation," she added.

It could also likely clarify confusing issues of jurisdiction, in matters where it was not clear if the law should be upheld by the Competition Commission or the sector regulator.

A potential challenge could, therefore, arise around the proposal of bringing all regulators under the umbrella of the Competition Commission, as this could lead to battles over who ‘reports' or ‘defers' to whom.

A number of South African regulators have recently come under fire, and have been accused of being powerless, and/or instruments of industry, rather than acting in the interest of the public.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa has been under the spotlight and has been criticised for its handling of electricity tariffs, while the Independent Communication Authority of South Africa has regularly drawn criticism from consumers, as well as industry players, most recently with regard to the issue of interconnection.