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The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes the release of the Competition Tribunal’s full findings and rationale for its decision regarding Walmart’s bid for Massmart. After studying the document in full, it is clear that the Tribunal has made the correct decision with the appropriate motivations.
Furthermore, the merging parties’ willingness to compromise and accept a conditional merger agreement must also be commended. The DA looks forward to seeing all compromises – especially those relating to the rights and privileges of current and previous Massmart employees – being upheld. If all parties keep their end of the bargain, the outcomes should be hugely beneficial for all involved. Walmart has already indicated an interest in expanding into other Southern African countries, whilst using South Africa as a base, which would create new employment and training opportunities for South Africans – as well as bringing more competitive retail prices to South Africans in general. The Tribunal’s decision also helps to position South Africa as an investment-friendly economy that is open to doing business with the world.
It is therefore unfortunate that such strong opposition to this merger continues to exist in certain quarters. The conditions attached to the merger provide adequate protection to all social partners. It is also clear that many of the “public interest” concerns raised by the intervening parties were irrelevant within the Tribunal’s scope of judgment. Indeed, the Tribunal’s report aptly states that the “Competition Tribunal’s job in merger control is not to make the world a better place, only to prevent it becoming worse as a result of a specific transaction.”
As for the direct intervention by the Economic Development Ministry, one has to wonder whether direct intervention regarding “public interest” concerns that fall outside of the Tribunal’s scope of judgment is an appropriate use of state resources. The Minister of Economic Development should be focused on improving South Africa’s investment climate and jobs growth – and not on issues relating to single mergers that the Competition Tribunal, the merging partners and the affected social partners are adequately equipped to manage independently.