Watchdog is almost toothless
Competition Commission only has half of the employees it is supposed to have
Although it has less than half of the 230 employees it is supposed to have on paper, the Competition Commission, which is called upon to fight the battle against high prices, is accused by institutions, consumers, businesses, parliamentarians and even by its own political superiors of inefficiency. Both the current and previous leadership of the authority have repeatedly requested the adequate staffing of the watchdog, but perhaps also the provision for some additional incentives, given that the volume of work is extremely large and that the experts it needs, such as lawyers and economists as well as scientists of new technologies, choose the private sector or better positions in the wider public sector.{BLA_WRD_TXT}
After the recent meeting that the new development minister, Takis Theodorikakos, had with the head of the commission, Irene Sharpe, it was announced that 25 executives will be hired and that, together with the minister, she will propose the recruitment of an additional 25 executives. Although this is a positive development, it does not mean that it will happen immediately. The announcement for the first 25 executives is expected in September, followed by a second shortly thereafter.
According to the latest activity report published by the commission, in 2022 it had a staff of 116 employees (90 assistant rapporteurs and 26 administrative staff) of which, however, 23 were seconded to other services.
The understaffing problem of this vital regulator is in fact a perennial one, becoming more intense in the past few years, following the departure of several executives who were not replaced or at least replaced sufficiently and on time.
This, after all, is the main reason that several of the watchdog’s cases have dragged on or were not sufficiently documented, the result being that the affected companies obtained a reduction of fines when they went to court to appeal the authority’s decisions.
