ERCA, MINISTRY OF TRADE AND GCCPC PRESENTED THE INAUGURAL ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON WEST COAST RADIO’S “REGIONAL INTEGRATION HOUR” PROGRAMME

The ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority (ERCA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment and the Gambia Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (GCCPC), presented today, Tuesday 11 August 2026, the Inaugural Annual Conference of ERCA on the airwaves of West Coast Radio (92.1 / 95.3 FM), to the Gambian public and the wider West African community.

The presentation took place within the framework of the station’s renowned public awareness programme, the “Regional Integration Hour”, broadcast live from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Long dedicated to informing citizens on fair trading practices and market rules, consumer rights, duties and advocacy, and the surveillance of essential commodities and pricing structures across local markets, the programme provided the ideal platform to bring the conference closer to the people it is ultimately meant to serve.

The programme was led by a distinguished panel composed of Dr. Simeon Koffi, Executive Director of ERCA, who headed the delegation of the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority; a Representative of the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, who underlined the Government of The Gambia’s commitment to competitive markets and regional integration; Mr. Baboucarr M. Ceesay, Director of Competition at the Gambia Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (GCCPC); and Mrs Ndeye Tabara Touray, Director of Regional Integration at the ECOWAS National Office of the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment.

During the one-hour live broadcast, the panel explained why this first-ever Annual Conference matters for regional integration and for the daily lives of consumers and businesses across ECOWAS. The discussion highlighted how the conference will address the region’s most pressing competition challenges, including cross-border enforcement, the harmonisation of national competition laws, market concentration in strategic sectors such as telecommunications, energy, transport and agribusiness, and the emerging issues of digital markets and artificial intelligence. The panel also addressed the key competition and consumer welfare issues facing The Gambia that require a regional response, notably the pricing and supply of essential commodities and the structure of the telecoms market.

The Inaugural Annual Conference of ERCA will be held from 15 to 17 September 2026 at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre in Bijilo, under the theme “Competition Policy and Market Integration in ECOWAS: Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities”. The three-day event will bring together Heads of State and senior government officials, national competition authorities from all ECOWAS Member States, the ECOWAS Commission, sector regulators, the judiciary, the private sector, academia, consumer organisations and development partners. The Opening Ceremony will feature an address by the President of the ECOWAS Commission and an opening keynote by His Excellency Mr. Adama Barrow, President of the Republic of The Gambia.

Members of the public who missed the live broadcast, as well as media houses and journalists wishing to cover the Inaugural Annual Conference or to request interviews with ERCA officials, are invited to contact the conference secretariat at annualconf@erca-arcc.org.