To conclude the week of advocacy postings, ICNBlog notes several recent examples of anti-cartel awareness training in the procurement context:

Bid Rigging for Public Officials – Malaysia

The Malaysia Competition Commission recently held a two-day seminar, titled “Workshop on Bid Rigging for Public Officials”. The workshop was attended by 75 participants representing Government bodies and agencies nationwide. The seminar covered topics on the harmful effects of bid rigging on the economy, procurement procedures, role of procurement officials in reducing bid rigging and methods of detecting bid rigging.

Business Education – New Zealand

The New Zealand Commerce Commission announced plans to meet with key people involved in the Christchurch rebuild to ensure competition law is not bent or broken during the rebuilding of the city. The goal of the project is to foster good procurement and tendering practices which will help ensure healthy competition during the Christchurch rebuild. The Christchurch initiative is part of the Commission’s focus on increasing education to raise awareness of the benefits of competition and through this, raise compliance with competition and consumer laws.

Public Procurement – Poland

Earlier this month, the Polish UOKiK organized a conference titled “Competition protection in public procurement” to discuss ways of enhancing the effectiveness of detecting and eliminating tender collusions. Participants included both the public and private sectors, including representatives from all aspects of procurement. Materials are available here.