By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas' proposed competition watchdog should be given "more autonomy" by reducing ministerial powers in draft legislation, the Bahamas Insurance Association's (BIA) chair is urging.

Emmanuel Komolafe, pictured, told Tribune Business The Bahamas had a real "opportunity to implement more robust" competition legislation that enhanced governance at the Fair Trading Commission.

He added that this nation could "spur economic activity" and enhance entrepreneurship if it got the draft Fair Competition Bill right, but said it also needed to make sure the legislation was "appropriate" for the structure and size of the Bahamian economy.

The BIA chairman said its provisions also needed to be harmonised and co-ordinated with existing legislation, citing the Insurance Act as one statute that already deals with merger and acquisitions in a specific industry - the same activities that the draft bill also seeks to scrutinise and regulate.

But Mr Komolafe, in particular, pointed to corporate governance as one area where the Fair Competition Bill should be adjusted and improved. "I just feel there's an opportunity to implement more robust legislation that also gives a level of autonomy to the Commission," he told Tribune Business.

"As much as possible, the Commission should have autonomy in the discharge of its duties and functions. [But] there are currently significant powers vested in the Minister insofar as the operations of the Commission is concerned based on the draft released."

Citing examples from the draft Bill, Mr Komolafe queried the ability of the Minister responsible to appoint the Fair Trading Commission's director-general, who will be the equivalent of its managing director or chief executive.

He compared the draft Bahamian legislation to that already in operation in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago, where the same position was appointed by the competition watchdog's Board - not the Minister - although the latter's approval was necessary.

"Just looking at it from a corporate governance and best practice perspective, you want to leave that in the hands of the Board," Mr Komolafe said. He also queried the draft Bill allowing the Fair Trading Commission's Board to be appointed by the Minister in consultation with the director-general, describing this as "kind of putting the cart before the horse" as the latter was supposed to report to the Board - not the other way around.

As a result, the BIA chairman said the director-general should not be involved in the Board's selection. "It would seem to me that the Board should be appointed prior to the appointment of the director-general," Mr Komolafe added. "Following the establishment of the Board, the Board should appoint the director-general/chief executive of the Commission."

Mr Komolafe also challenged the Minister's ability to point the Commission's chairman, again acting on the director-general's advice, and the need for ministerial approval to be obtained for the regulations governing the activities of employees and technical staff.

"There has to be autonomy for the Commission, and minimise political interference as much as possible," he said, suggesting the current Bill permitted "too much involvement by the Minister".

Backing the concept behind the Fair Competition Bill, and the desire to protect consumers from practices such as price fixing and gouging, Mr Komolafe told Tribune Business: "Ultimately, the spirit of competition legislation is to protect the consumer, so from that perspective it's not bad legislation.

"But how do you put it in a Bahamian context in terms of what you're dealing with and the structure of our economy? We have to bear in mind the dynamics of each sector. Competition legislation could actually help by encouraging entrepreneurship through levelling the playing field and allowing competition to thrive and spurring economic activity.

"It's not a bad concept. We just have to think it through and make sure it's appropriate in the context of the Bahamian environment. The expectation is that the fair competition legislation will achieve the objective of promoting a fair, efficient and effective market place as opposed to being disruptive."