The Competition Commission on Thursday carried out simultaneous and coordinated search and seizure raids at the premises of the Automatic Sprinkler Inspection Bureau (Asib) and 24 fire control and protection services companies that are members of Asib.
This is the largest number of premises raided in a cartel investigation in South Africa.
The commission said in a statement that it had reasonable grounds to believe that the Asib and its members are engaged in a concerted practice to fix prices and trading conditions, divide markets and tender collusively.
Asib members are required to adhere to various rules and standards which constitute an agreement to exclude nonmembers from the market.
This is part of an ongoing investigation and prosecution in the sector, which has already led to several Gauteng companies admitting to the conduct and settling with the commission.
“This investigation is particularly concerning because of the seemingly prominent role played by consulting engineering companies in facilitating this cartel, as well as the confirmation of pervasiveness of cartels in the construction sector,” the commission said in a statement.
The commission has already investigated a complaint in this industry, uncovering long-standing collusive arrangements among fire control and protection systems companies.