Dischem to appear before the Competition Tribunal for price hiking

Competition Tribunal will on Monday hear the second case involving pricing in the context of COVID-19. The Competition Commission had referred the matter to the tribunal which accuses Dischem Pharmacies Limited of abusing its dominance.

The commission has also accused the company of charging excessive prices for surgical masks.

Dischem was allegedly selling three types of surgical masks at prices inflated by 261% after the lockdown.

The pharmacy has denied the allegations and says it was following regulated guidelines.

The Competition Commission says it has referred the case to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution after it found that Dischem has charged excessive prices on essential items such as surgical masks.

The commission has asked the Tribunal to impose a maximum penalty against Dischem.

The Competition Commission’s first COVID- 19 related excessive pricing case was heard in Pretoria by the Competition Tribunal last month. The caseagainst Babelegi Workwear and Industrial Supplies was being heard on an urgent basis.

Babelegi was alleged to have contravened the Competition Act charging excessive prices for face masks. If found guilty, the company could pay an administrative penalty equal to 10% of its turnover.

Senior Advocate representing Babelegi Greta Engelbrecht argued that the commission filed a referral based on the conduct of the company before the lockdown started and not after.

Last month, it was reported that 24 members of staff at a branch of a pharmacy in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg, had tested positive for the coronavirus. This came after the pharmacy conducted a number of tests due to one employee testing positive for the virus.

The pharmaceutical company had earlier recorded a coronavirus infection at the same store. It said it subsequently closed the store for deep cleaning and took the decision to test all other staff members, resulting in the four who tested positive for the virus, self-isolating.
20 other employees who were asymptomatic tested positive after the store repeat-tested staff.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has announced that eight more people have died due to the coronavirus, bringing the national death toll to 131. He says 6 783 cases have been recorded, with 2 549 recoveries.

SABC News reports on the latest COVID-19 numbers:

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Active cases have risen by 489 bringing the total number up to 4 103.

South Africa’s infection rate is just 217 new infections shy of reaching 7000.

The increase in deaths is recorded from the Eastern Cape with 4 and both Gauteng and Western Cape recording 2 each.

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Source: SABC News (sabcnews.com)