MPs move to fast-track funding for competition authority

TDT | Manama

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A seven-year funding delay has left Bahrain’s Competition Authority powerless against monopolies, with MPs urging the government to unlock the necessary budget before trade and investment suffer further.

A parliamentary committee has endorsed the proposal, with a vote set for Tuesday. The Protection and Promotion of Competition law, passed in 2018, called for the creation of an independent watchdog to keep markets fair and stop price-fixing and monopolisation. But without a budget, it has never been able to function.

Delay

MP Ali Saqer, one of the backers of the proposal, said the delay needed to be addressed.

“Ensuring a well-regulated competitive environment will balance economic competition with social justice, with the anticipated benefits of establishing the authority outweighing the expected costs,” he said in the explanatory memorandum.

The law gives the authority full control over its own affairs, with oversight from the minister responsible for commerce. But Article 4 states it cannot operate until funding is made available.

A 2019 royal decree named an administrative body to oversee the authority’s functions temporarily, yet without proper backing, it has remained inactive.

The MPs behind the proposal — Ali Saqer, Hisham Al Awadhi, Ahmed Qarata, Abdulla Al Rumaihi, and Maryam Al Dhaen — warned that the delay could weaken the economy, deter investors, and leave consumers with fewer protections.

They argued that the authority was needed to curb major firms from throwing their weight around and pushing out smaller competitors.

Proposal

The Financial and Economic Affairs Committee, which reviewed the proposal, agreed with the MPs and backed the call for funding.

It said getting the authority running would help stabilise the market and keep trade fair.

The government has been urged to add the funds to the upcoming budget to avoid further hold-ups.