It's becoming a bit tedious, actually... bring ripped off, or hearing about industries being investigated for ripping us off. Last year we had a gala season with bread and milk in the spotlight. Now we have a new one... The Competition Commission news release, with today's date (what a lovely start to the year), uses language that is redolent of dusty legal files, but it gets the message across... "Pursuant to receiving leniency applications from Sasol Gas related to cartel conduct in the supply and pricing of piped gas, the Competition Commission has initiated an investigation, citing respondents including Egoli Gas (Pty) Ltd, Spring Lights Gas (Pty) Ltd, and Coal Energy and Power Resources Ltd. The conduct being investigated involves market allocation and/or price fixing agreements." This investigation follows a complaint lodged by a company by the name of Nutriflo cc. In short, yes... there's a strong suspicion we have been ripped off yet again. If we carry on like this bizcommunity.com might be justified in launching a new section along the lines of CorruptionWatch - and there could well be enough material to update it on a regular basis. But the question is not so much "When will it all stop?" (It won't - greed is a cancer eating into this country's soul) but "How many have not been caught?" Me? I'm in favour of something approaching the Chinese method. Someone gets caught for corruption and everyone - including the big bosses - get it in the neck, sometimes literally. I'm not for one second suggesting that the ultimate penalty should be punishment here, but the realisation that if your company is caught with its hand 'in the till' so to speak, you as the head honcho could become some hulking brute's 'wyfie' in Pollsmore, should concentrate your mind. After all, it would be a rather dramatic change to your present lifestyle of fast cars, the trophy wife and life in the fast lane.

Rod Baker, guest columnist - rod@bizcommunity.com All retail news to: retailnews@bizcommunity.com Responses to this column welcomed in our new online editor's column archive.