The President has declined to assent to the recently enacted
Competition Act and has returned it to Parliament for
reconsideration. The Act was passed by Parliament in May 2023.
In his letter to the Speaker of Parliament last month, President
Museveni queried the creation of the Competition and Consumer
Protection Commission under the law saying that the creation of new
statutory authorities was contrary to the current government policy
of rationalisation.
As tabled in Parliament, the administration of the new law was
by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives. However, the
Parliamentary Committee on Tourism, Trade and Industry proposed to
create an independent commission as has been done in Kenya,
Tanzania and Rwanda. This proposal was accepted by Parliament and
passed.
