Capacity Building on Competition Policy in Select Countries of
Eastern and Southern Africa
7Up3 Project
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
7Update EnewsLetter Vol. II
Project Progress
In the wake of the current wind of privatisation and liberalisation prevailing in the developing world, an appropriate competition regime is required to ensure that domestic manufacturers’ interests are safeguarded, in addition to protecting consumers from abuses emanating from anti-competitive practices, both at the local and national levels. Most of the world has already waken up to this reality, with more and more countries adopting a competition legislation.
The situation in Africa is no exception. With many countries having adopted competition legislations recently, there is a great demand for capacity building on the subject both in the government circles, and the academic and research fraternity.
CUTS has been associated with research based advocacy work on competition policy and law in India, right from the inception of the debate on the need for an appropriate competition regime in the country. Over the period of its involvement with competition policy and law in the country, CUTS realised the need to actively associate the civil society as a ‘catalyst’ to this discourse. Adding a multi-stakeholder dimension to the process of evolving a functional competition regime.
Subsequently, CUTS has developed a model for engagement in multi-country projects on competition policy and law, involving multiple stakeholders, which has been applied to various countries in Asia and Africa.
The initiative entitled, ‘Capacity building on Competition Policy in Select Countries of Eastern and Southern Africa’, is a sequel to this approach, and popularly referred to as the 7Up3 Project. Though the preparatory phase of the project began in January 2005, the formal launching of the project was done in end March 2005 at Entebbe, Uganda. The project is being implemented with co-operation of selected CSOs from each of the seven project countries: Botswana, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia and Uganda.
Keeping in view the specific research and advocacy components of the project, one research partner and one advocacy partner was selected to carry out specific research and advocacy activities in the project countries. In some of the countries, however, both the research and advocacy activities had to be handled by one partner, as getting separate CSOs to shoulder different activities proved difficult, and often led to delays.
The research partners started their activities by developing a base paper on the competition scenario in each of the project countries, which was later presented at the Launch Meeting, and adequately discussed therein.
In the months of May-June, the first round of national consultation meetings were held in five of the seven project countries. The purpose of these consultations were:
- To establish a ‘core group’ of key stakeholders, by making them aware of the objectives and anticipated outcomes of the project.
- To sensitise this core group (National Reference group or NRG) on the subject, and establish a method of periodical consultation for inputs to the research process and the advocacy methodology.
- To discuss the salient features of the base paper on the competition scenario in each of the project countries.
The NRG meetings went off well in the project countries, and the following important points emerged:
- There was a need to make stakeholders comprehend the relationship between competition policy and consumer protection – i.e., how an effective competition policy could lead to consumer protection.
- A need was felt to make the engagement with the NRG members continuous. This would help in enhancing their awareness on the subject, and also keep their interest alive to associate readily with the project.
- A need was felt by the members of the NRGs, to look at competition (or its restriction) in specific sectors of the economy, with greater details.
There were delays in moving the project forward in Namibia and Mozambique.
While in Namibia, the unavailability of a consumer association to undertake the advocacy activities led to the project being stuck for a while, the reason for delay in Mozambique was on account of the fact that the research partner in Mozambique, was not able to deliver the preliminary paper, and kept stretching the deadline.
It is expected that the assumption of both research and advocacy activities by NEPRU in Namibia would bring the project back on schedule in the country. The national consultation meeting in Namibia has been scheduled on August 16, 2005, and a tentative NRG has also been constituted.
In Mozambique on the other hand the project team is making every effort to get an alternative partner for the project, and is in the process of consultation with various civil society organisations and other acquaintances. There was also a visit by a representative from the CUTS Africa Office based in Lusaka, Zambia to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, in order to identify prospective partners. It is expected that an alternative project partner would be identified in Mozambique soon.
Some of the activities of the partners worth mentioning over this period were:
- Preparation of brief NRG meeting reports by the partners in Botswana, Ethiopia, Malawi and Mauritius. ‘Press Releases’ on the NRG were also prepared by the partners, some of which were captured in leading newspapers of respective countries.
- Development of two Policy Briefs by the advocacy partner in Mauritius, Institute for Consumer Protection (ICP).
- Article on, ‘Competition in the Malawian Tobacco Sector’, by Malawi Economic Justice Network, the advocacy partner in Malawi.
- Article on: ‘Competition in the Banking Sector in Mauritius’, by the research partner of Mauritius, Faulty of Social Studies and Humanities, University of Mauritius.
- Article in the newspaper by the research-cum-advocacy partner in Uganda, Consumer Education Trust of Uganda (CONSENT) and the advocacy partner from Mauritius, ICP.
- Project partners sent newspaper articles from some of the project countries.
The details about the project are available in the project web page, www.cuts-international.org/7up3.htm.
News from project countries………
COUNTRY
BOTSWANA
ETHIOPIA
MALAWI
MAURITIUS
MOZAMBIQUE
NAMIBIA
UGANDA
NEWS
Government mulls regulating LPG prices
Government is considering removing LPG from the free market and regulating its price. The move comes in the wake of several factors, especially the frequent price increases and price discrimination among dealers in the capital.
Call for intra-Africa trade
Botswana has expressed its commitment to stimulate establishment of joint business ventures with Ghana. This was in response to Accra’s call to find ways to trade within the continent, in wake of the current trend, where African products losing their legitimate share in the markets.
Botswana-Namibia for closer ties
The Namibian President has emphasised the need to intensify Windhoek-Gaborone trade links. He suggested various means to enhance commercial, educational and cultural ties between the two countries. He stressed that both countries should work hand-in-hand to achieve the targets set by South African Development Community (SADC).
Improving interconnectivity in Africa
During the course of a four-day international workshop in Addis Ababa, detailed prospects of a project connecting countries from the tip of southern Africa to the Sudan were discussed. The aim of the workshop was to seek solutions to problems of quality, capacity and delay in satellite communication, as well as the possible extension of an optical fiber highway, which is currently being installed in Ethiopia, to the neighbouring countries Sudan and Djibouti.
A long way to go for Ethiopia
Experts observe that even with debt relief and recent increases in aid, a lot would be needed to develop the requisite infrastructure and generate sustainable growth in Ethiopia. Private sector development and improvement of investment climate are being looked at as the possible measure to ensure this. The flower industry has shown a way forward…
Mobile markets boost cross-border trade
In a move to empower people to buy and sell commodities at reasonable prices without being exploited, the Malawian government has initiated a mobile cross-border market, which keeps shifting camps from one place to another along the Zambia-Malawi border. It attracts traders from the three countries of Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania, and consumers get to choose from a wide variety of goods.
Malawi budget ‘to trigger inflation’
There are strong fears among economic analysts that Malawi’s pending budget (2005-06), will push inflation further upwards, raising commodity prices to unsustainable levels especially for the impoverished masses. 75 percent of the country’s population, surviving on less than one dollar a day, would have to bear the brunt of this, the most!
Need for food standard monitoring felt
The Ministry of Health, Mauritius seized imported bottled water from Malaysia, and stopped it from entering the market, as it was found to be contaminated. Consumer organisations have urged the government for immediately setting up an agency to monitor the food standards in the country, and help safeguard health of consumers.
Sugar Protocol: a big blow to producers
Mauritius has expressed its dismay at the announcement of the 39 percent drop in sugar export prices by the EU. This will have a dramatic effect on the sector and the people dependent on it, in all the Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) countries.
US quotas on Chinese textiles bring back smiles
Mauritius’ textile industry welcomed a decision by the United States to impose quotas on certain textile items in order to counter the surge in imports from cheap producers in China. With Mauritius’ garment exports to US declining, the quotas have rekindled hopes among exporters of regaining their slice of the US market.
USA Mozambique boost trade ties
A Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) signed between the United Sates and Mozambique, would help further US-Mozambican bilateral trade and investment relationship. A US-Mozambican Council on Trade and Investment will be formed, to plan and execute activities on various issues of common concern.
Support for CFA proposals
Mozambique has pledged its support for the ‘Commission For Africa’ (CFA) report on poverty reduction in Africa. The Mozambican President asserted that the Commission’s commitment to address debt relief, doubling development aid, and removal of trade barriers coincided with the economic and social development objectives of the government.
Mozambican Cashew on track to revival
The ‘Zambique’ brand of Mozambican cashew nut was released recently for its first export sale to a US buyer. However, the industry has a long way to go before it could regain its earlier stature, which was badly affected by World Bank’s blind pursuit of free trade ideology.
Government keen on transfer pricing
Namibia’s national budgetary system has been undergoing reforms since the mid-90s. The Government has put great emphasis on improving the efficiency of its tax collection process. One such measure is to introduce a ‘transfer pricing’ legislation, to curb malpractices by multinational companies.
Unfair competition for local businesses
The Northern business community has blamed the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) for not protecting them against unfair competition from foreign traders, especially the Chinese. They have called on the NCCI to address critical issues affecting the business community.
Reducing beef industry imbalance
More than a decade after Namibia achieved independence, meat from the northern communal areas (NCA) have failed to gain access to the European markets, unlike meat produced from the southern commercial farms. The Meat Board feels that the animals north of the ‘cordon fence’ are rarely vaccinated, and are therefore prone to the dreaded Foot and Mouth Disease. In order to counter this, the northern farmers have proposed a system of ‘self-quarantine’.
Celtel sues Uganda Telecom
Mobile telephone giants, Celtel and Uganda Telecom (UTl), are locked up in a legal battle over interconnection fees. Celtel’s claim that the two companies have utilised each other’s services and infrastructure for connecting telephone calls across their networks for a cost, which UTl has ignored.
Postal sector gears up to face competitors
Postal managers from the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) member countries have expressed grave concern over the declining turnovers of the postal companies, with the advent of internet and mobile phones. Posta Uganda, has shown the way to deal with this changing business environment by striking airtime retail partnerships with mobile phone companies.
Migereko woos investors on key air route
Trade Minister Daudi Migereko has called investors to invest in the Entebbe-Nairobi air route to reduce transport costs. He observed that Kenyan Airways is taking advantage of its monopoly position in the route, and adversely affecting tourism and business prospects for Uganda.
NEPAD/OECD Roundtable shows the way
The need to address obstacles for more active private sector participation in infrastructure was the subject of particular attention during the recently concluded NEPAD/OECD investment roundtable held at Entebbe. Discussion focused on resolving issues pertaining to regulatory capacity constraints and lack of adapted financing mechanisms. Uganda is keen to provide congenial atmospheres to encourage investment in the country, and is advancing to ensure this outcome.