Economic Policy Reform and Competitiveness Project

On 16 June, the Cabinet Secretariat’s Open Government website sponsored a nationally televised chat between policy makers and citizens on ‘What does Mongolia’s Competition Authority do for me?’ The program included panelists MP N. Altanhuyag, First Deputy Prime Minister; Mr. Mandakh, Chairman of the Authority for Fair Competition and Consumer Protection; Mr. Myagmarjav Lkhachinbal, Executive Director of the Mongolian Meat Association; Mr. S. Demberel, Chairman of the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Mr. B. Bold, CEO of Newcom Group; and Mr. G. Munkhbold, Attorney and CEO of Bold Partners Law Firm. In addition to the live chat, the show included clips of interviews with international competition expert, Pablo Garcia explaining best practices for competition authorities and MP D. Gankhuyag discussing the new competition law.

Throughout the hour-long program, citizens from around the country asked a total 168 questions, 59 by phone call and 109 by text messages. Questions centered on prices of meat, gasoline, and cell phone services. Overall the questions revealed that citizens do not have much information about  fair competition or the role of the Authority for Fair Competition.  Most questions were related to the excessive price increase in the meat industry, expressing frustration at paying MNT 6,000 per kilo of meat, while the country has 40 million animals. Individuals inquired what the government is doing to reduce the price of meat and if any studies had been conducted to identify the factors of excessive price increases.  Many others focused on the possibility of regulating meat ‘sellers’. Many citizens also asked about the new competition law and challenges that the Competition Authority is facing.

In June, Mongolia’s Parliament passed a Law on Competition in response to changes in the economic and business environment since the passage of the Unfair Competition Law of Mongolia in 1993 and the creation of the Authority for Fair Competition and Consumer Protection in 2005. The new law aims to support business growth and competitiveness through introducing the culture of competition and imposes greater penalties for the breach of competition by business entities.

The Stakeholders Talks programs are a continuation of the Open Talks series, sponsored by the Cabinet Secretariat’s Open Government website, and provide a platform for dialogue between citizens and senior level decision makers from the public sector, business, and civil society. Previous Stakeholders Talks and Open Talks programs have included national multimedia chats between citizens and policy makers on topics such as tax reform, housing finance, the national action plan, transportation, and others. Support for the last three national chats came from the project in collaboration with the Open Society Forum (OSF) and the Mongolian National Public Radio and Television (MNPRTV).