ERCA SENSITIZES STAKEHOLDERS IN CABO VERDE ON THE REGIONAL COMPETITION FRAMEWORK

Oru Leonard 

The ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority (ERCA) in collaboration with the National Competition Authority of Cabo Verde (AdC) has organized a joint advocacy and sensitization workshop on the ECOWAS Regional Competition Framework and the mandate of ERCA as well as the national competition regime on 4 April 2023 in Praia, Republic of Cabo Verde.

The objective of the workshop was to create awareness on the mandate and operations of the ECOWAS Regional Competition Framework towards engendering ownership as well as strengthening collaboration with key stakeholders.

In his opening remarks, Dr Simeon Konan Koffi, Executive Director of ERCA, stated that the awareness-raising meeting was organized in an international, continental, and regional backdrop, especially in relation to trade and commerce, which is constantly changing and faced with new issues and challenges.

He further underscored the fact that with the current political and economic uncertainty that the whole world is experiencing, particularly in our region, the dynamism of regional trade is more relevant than ever, and the strengthening of free competition is a sine-qua-non for achieving the objective of regional integration agenda.

The Chairman of the Competition Authority of Cabo Verde, Eng. Emanuel Barbosa, in his own remarks, expressed the willingness of the AdC to work in harmony with ERCA in support of the competition.

This he stated, is demonstrated by the recent establishment and inauguration of the Board of Directors of the Cabo Verde Competition Authority.Several presentations were made during the two-day meeting on ERCA’s mission and its framework for collaboration with the AdC, ERCA’s mandate and its implications for businesses and trade in the ECOWAS, Competition Policy in relation to the AFCFTA, Competition and Consumer Protection Regime in Cabo Verde and Cross Border trade issues with trading partners within the ECOWAS region.

Participants at the workshop include officials of the Competition Authority of Cabo Verde, the Civil Society organizations, Government officials, Consumer Protection Associations, Civil society actors, private sector operators, and the media.