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Abidjan, November 19, 2021: In collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Competition Commission of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority (ARCC) organized on November 18, 2021, at the premises of the Resident Representation of ECOWAS near the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, an advocacy and awareness-raising workshop for national competition actors in Côte d’Ivoire.
This workshop, which brought together experts from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Competition Commission, the Ministries of Economy and Budget, national sectoral regulatory authorities, sectoral agencies, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, private sector operators, business associations, consumer associations, civil society, etc., aimed to inform Ivorian stakeholders of the existence of the ARCC, to raise awareness the Government on the need to internalize the ECOWAS Supplementary Acts on competition and to prepare the minds of the actors on the next interventions of the ARCC.
The opening ceremony was marked by three (3) interventions, namely that of Dr. Simeon Koffi, Acting Executive Director of the ARCC, that of HE Mrs. Fanta Cissé, Resident Representative of ECOWAS to the Republic of Côte d’ Ivoire then finally that of the President of the Competition Commission, Mrs. Abanet Esso Milie Blanche, representing the Minister of Trade and Industry of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire.
Taking the floor first, Dr. Siméon Koffi, after welcoming the participants, expressed his gratitude to the Ivorian authorities for holding the advocacy workshop in Côte d’Ivoire, as well as to the Resident Representative and the participants for their presence. He recalled the regional, continental and global context of trade characterized by the Covid 19 pandemic and indicated that a major change at the continental level was to take place as a result of the start of negotiations on competition within the framework of the AfCFTA.
Noting that the regional and continental agenda is quite busy, the speaker called on stakeholders to work towards the development of competition culture before specifying that the amendments to the regional competition framework and the instruments for operationalizing competition ARCC are awaiting adoption by ECOWAS statutory bodies in the near future. He finally urged national actors to take ownership of the regional framework and facilitate its implementation through the involvement of all stakeholders and invited the Minister of Trade and Industry to the ministerial meeting scheduled for November 25 2021 in Lome, Togo.
HE Mrs. Fanta Cissé, Resident Representative of ECOWAS to the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, after welcoming the participants, on behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, HE Mr. Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, expressed his deep gratitude to the Ivorian authorities for the warm welcome she received. She indicated that the present meeting should make it possible to strengthen the capacities of the actors and to ensure the establishment of a platform in the field of competition and consumer protection.
Finally, she stressed that opening up to competition is a requirement of the ZLECAF whose objectives are in line with dialogue and the development of the culture of competition.
Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mrs. Abanet Esso Milie Blanche, President of the Competition Commission, welcomed the participants before welcoming the holding, despite the restrictions, of two meetings of the ARCC in Abidjan, in the space of two (2) months. It encouraged the ARCC to continue its efforts to provide the region with the legal instruments necessary for the implementation of the regional framework and invited the actors to take ownership of the regional competition framework in order to explore the creation of large, the pooling of strengths and the harmonization of practices with a view to effectively combating anti-competitive practices.
Ms. Abanet also hoped that this session could provide stakeholders with the tools for a real culture of competition before declaring the work of the session open.
Three (3) presentations followed the opening ceremony. The first presentation focused on the ECOWAS regional competition framework, the ARCC, its mandate, functions and powers, actions, and future prospects. The 2nd presentation focused on the competition and consumer protection regime in Côte d’Ivoire and the 3rd dealt with issues relating to cross-border trade with trading partners within the ECOWAS region. These presentations were followed by discussions.
Following the plenary discussions, the participants were divided into three (3) groups. Each of these groups was able to work on a theme with a view to making recommendations to ensure the internalization and implementation of community competition rules in Côte d’Ivoire.
Finally, with a view to establishing spaces for exchange and collaboration with all stakeholders, ARCC representatives organized, on November 19, 2021, bilateral meetings with a certain number of national actors, including the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Competition Commission, socio-professional associations, consumer associations, the National Institute of Statistics, which has made it possible to better understand the institutional framework of competition in Côte d’Ivoire and the possibilities of collaboration with these main actors.