The ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority (ERCA) has organized a meeting of a Working Group for the review of the Draft AfCFTA Protocol on competition.
This is to ensure that all Member States adopt a common position on all the provisions of the draft AfCFTA Protocol to be shared with Member States’ negotiators and other regional organizations.
This comes ahead of the fifth meeting of negotiations between African Union States Parties that is scheduled to hold in Accra, Ghana from 30 May to 2nd June 2022 on the said draft.
The meeting, which ended on Monday in Saly, Senegal, brought together a number of ECOWAS Member States (Gambia, Nigeria, Senegal) and ERCA officials for a brainstorming on the draft AfCFTA Protocol on competition.
In his welcome address, the Executive Director, ERCA, Dr Simeon Koffi, informed delegates that the meeting was convened to consider the draft AfCFTA Protocol on Competition Policy and harmonise and coordinate the position of Member states on the Protocol.
He further challenged the delegates to thoroughly review the document and tease out issues that concern the region.
Review is to ensure that all Member States adopt a common position on all the provisions of the draft AfCFTA Protocol to be shared with Member States’ negotiators and other regional organizations.
In her opening remarks, the Chairperson, ERCA Consultative Competition Committee (CCC), Mrs Boladale Adeyinka, commended ERCA for coming up with the initiative that avails members the opportunity to consult and harmonise their positions on the Protocol ahead of Accra meet.
She further urged the participants to actively participate in the review to identify their positions on the Protocol both at national and regional levels, and commended previous efforts.
Resolutions
Upon the review of the draft Protocol, the Working Group reached a consensus on a number of items, including the clarification of the objectives of the draft Protocol; the jurisdiction of the continental competition authority in the area of competition; the institutional arrangement between the continental; and the regional and national competition authorities.
Others are the introduction of state aids and state subsidies in the list of anticompetitive practices in the draft Protocol; the introduction of a threshold for mergers and acquisitions, the adoption of a cooperation framework between the 3 levels of competition, the composition of the executive board, the African Competition Network, among others.
Following the adoption of the recommendations, the participants agreed to share the outcome of the meeting with all Member States and other regional economic communities in order to reach a common position on the draft Protocol to be defended at the Accra meeting.
Well done.lt is a good initiative that will lead to the implementation of the Agreement.A uniform position achieve through consultation and sharing experience would ensure the implementation of the Protocol.
Well done.lt is a good initiative that will lead to the implementation of the Agreement.A uniform position achieve through consultation and sharing experience would ensure the implementation of the Protocol.