Competition Experts Met to Review Draft Harmonized Framework of ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority

Published On - February 13, 2023

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The ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority (ERCA) convened a technical working-group meeting to review the Draft Harmonized Framework of the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority Information System (ECIS) from February 6 -10 2023, in Banjul, the Republic of The Gambia. The meeting brought together four (4) technical experts from the ERCA Consultative Competition Committee (CCC) and ERCA staff to review the Harmonized information system framework on competition before submission for regional validation by the CCC. The meeting of the working group provided an opportunity for the experts to review and edit the draft documents and make the necessary recommendations to improve the document and ensure it is in line with ERCA’s regulations and best practices.

The Executive Director of ERCA, Dr. Simeon Koffi welcomed the working group members to Banjul and thanked them for attending the meeting. He stated that it is essential to receive recommendations from the technical working group to ensure that the ECIS is comprehensive to respond to the needs of the Member States who be one of the main users of the platform. He added that the ECIS is fully digitalized including its statistical system which will help in detecting and analyzing anti-competitive practices within the ECOWAS region.

The Chairperson of the CCC, Ms. Boladale Adeyinka, in her presentation, stated that the meeting is aimed at strengthening the harmonization of the ECOWAS Region in relation to competition and consumer protection. She emphasized the importance of statistics in competition enforcement within the region and opined that the diverse list of participants with their different expertise will contribute to having a robust deliberation on the draft Harmonized Framework of the ECIS. She thanked Member of the CCC continuous support and the technical expertise of the CCC members and other experts at the meeting.

The meeting concluded with the experts making necessary recommendations to improve the draft information system and ensure it is in line with ERCA’s requirements and best practices.