South Africa’s competition landscape is under intense scrutiny following the Competition Tribunal’s recent decision to block telecommunications firm Vodacom’s R14-billion acquisition of a co-controlling stake in Vumatel parent Maziv, despite the merging parties agreeing to a range of additional conditions sought by the authorities. The decision threatens a R10-billion investment into fibre networks in underserviced parts of South Africa, and risks halting broader industry consolidation, emphasises business organisation Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busi Mavuso.
