Competition Policy in Africa

Abstract

During the past two decades, many African countries have adopted competition policy as an important instrument of economic and, more specifically, market governance. The proliferation of competition policy regimes in Africa has taken place during a phase of broad-based economic liberalisation, including trade liberalisation, and domestic economic reforms such as privatisation. In some cases, these reforms were part of structural adjustment programmes, were supported by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and in other cases the economic adjustment programmes were homegrown. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) was established in 1995 after the conclusion of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral trade negotiations. The first WTO Ministerial Conference, held in Singapore in 1996, brought new generation trade issues, including competition policy, on to the multilateral trade agenda. However, at the 2003 Cancun Ministerial Conference, competition was dropped from the Doha Development Agenda, following debates among developing countries about the benefits of a competition regime. Despite the fact that competition no longer features on the multilateral trade agenda, many regional trade agreements include provisions on competition. In many cases, the provisions cover cooperation in competition enforcement. Perhaps the most important experience to date has been in the context of the negotiations with the European Union to conclude Economic Partnership Agreements. Many countries have still to conclude these negotiations; the provisions being discussed focus specifically on cooperation in enforcement. However, in Africa, there are several regional integration arrangements that provide for a regional competition law and the establishment of a regional competition authority.