FTC, CAC to merge
Published:Wednesday | February 6, 2019 | 6:58 AM
A new agency is to be created to undertake the functions of the Fair Trading Commission, FTC, and the Consumer Affairs Commission, CAC, a process that is expected to get under way this year.
Although the November 2018 International Monetary Fund (IMF) country report identified other public bodies which would be combined as part of the public sector transformation programme, the FTC and the CAC were not among them.
The tie-up of the two watchdog agencies was disclosed in the January 2019 edition of FTCNewsonline.
Cabinet decision
The competition agency said the combination with the CAC was a Cabinet decision and is part of the public sector transformation programme where emphasis is placed on merging entities with similar functions to achieve more effective service delivery.
It said the new entity will carry out the functions of both the FTC, Jamaica’s competition agency which includes both competition policy and consumer protection issues, and the CAC which has oversight of consumer protection matters.
The Financial Gleaner sought to determine whether the operations of both agencies will be housed under the same roof, and how it would impact the existing workforce at the two entities, but Executive Director of the FTC, David Miller, declined to comment at this time on anything beyond what was reported in the newsletter.
The CAC was established to inform, educate and empower consumers to protect themselves in the marketplace and was formerly known as the Prices Commission, which was established based on amendments to the Trade Act passed in July 1970.
The FTC said that for the calendar year to December 2018, it investigated 149 complaints for breaches of the Fair Competition Act, FCA. That comprised 109 cases that were unresolved at the end of 2017 and 40 cases which were received during 2018.
It said the automobile and telecommunications sectors triggered the largest number of complaints with informants alleging misleading advertising as it relates to price or features of products or services.
For instance, it said, a complaint in the automobile sector concerned the failure of a dealer to honour the terms of a cash back promotion with the purchase of a particular model vehicle.
The FTC staff intervened and the informant received the full benefit of the promotion.
Between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018, 47 cases were resolved. Of the 149 cases investigated 113 were classified as matters concerning misleading advertising, 27 as offences against competition, six as request for opinion, and one as tied-selling.
Two complaints were considered as being outside the purview of the FCA and, where appropriate, were forwarded to other agencies.
The IMF report listed the operational merger of the HEART Trust/NTA, Jamaica Foundation for Lifelong Learning and the National Youth Service as part of the public sector transformation programme. The finalisation of that merger resulted in the displacement of some workers recently.
Under the standby agreement with the IMF, the Jamaican authorities also committed to prioritize essential government functions and services to free-up resources for urgently-needed social and capital spending.
As a step in that direction, the government said it would be accelerating the merger, closure or reintegration of 18 public bodies by September 2019.
Out of 190 public bodies, action was reportedly taken on only 14 so far, with little fiscal savings.
Going forward, the IMF staff suggested that in addition to streamlining the number of public bodies, the reform should strike a balance between the government’s public service priorities and maximizing fiscal savings.