The Tribunal has issued an order which grants the Commission a postponement in a panel beating cartel case, as it (the Commission) tries to secure the testimony of an asylum seeker at the hearing in Pretoria.
 
The Commission applied for a postponement in the long-running case in February this year when its key witness, a Zimbabwean asylum seeker in the USA, was prevented from boarding a plane to South Africa to testify in the matter. His USA refugee travel documents did not comply with South African legislation and regulations.
 
The asylum seeker is a crucial factual witness for the Commission as he is the only person who may be able to explain how the alleged cartel operated. He had previously worked for one of the companies implicated in the case.
 
The two panel beating companies, Eldan Auto Body CC and Precision and Sons (Pty) Ltd, opposed the Commission’s application for a postponement. They argued that the case had been ongoing for a very long time and that they had incurred a great deal of costs.
 
In its order, the Tribunal said: “We are mindful of the fact that the matter has been postponed before and that the matter was first investigated five years ago. This Tribunal has often expressed its concern at the length of time it takes to finalise matters before it. This matter is not an exception. Justice delayed is justice denied. The delay can however not be visited on the Competition Commission alone …”  The Tribunal found that both the Commission and Eldan Auto Body were culpable for the delay of this matter.
 
“… the inability to proceed with the hearing was not due to an unpreparedness on the part of the Commission to proceed. In fact, the only real issue to be considered is whether justice demands that the Commission should be given extra time to present its case.”
 
The Tribunal said it was satisfied that the Commission’s application had been made in good faith and was justified.
 
The Tribunal also found that the broad public interest requires a postponement in this matter: “… the hearing must go ahead so that the allegations can be fully ventilated in the public interest and to give the respondents an opportunity of responding to and defending themselves against the Commission’s cartel allegations against them.”
 
For a copy of the full Order and Reasons, please contact the Tribunal’s Communications Officer. Details below: