DefinePK

Abstract

This paper argues that competition policy has focused exclusively on the productive and financial sectors which has consequently seen periods of extreme concentration of assets by the private sector, nationalisation and subsequent privatisation and de-regulation. However, the political momentum generated from the nationalisation moves in industry and finance has resulted in complete government control through nationalisation of the education sector which has had adverse consequences for human resource development. Public administration has also deteriorated as a result of expansion of the nationalised sector and consequent diversion of economic rents to public administrators. The challenges facing the economy are to increase competitiveness and reduce rent seeking through eliminating trade barriers, privatisation and de-regulation in the production, finance and education sectors which are only possible in democratic environments and which reinforce the democratic process itself particularly through human resource development. An important dilemma relates to the infrastructure and energy sectors where issues of privatising natural monopolies and cartels raise questions of institutional capacity in regulating these sectors.