African Press Agency, Dakar, Senegal, April 08, 2010

Competition is not an end in itself, it rather contributes to economic progress in that it “encourages companies to innovate in an attempt to survive,” 7Up Project consultant Guy Charrier said Wednesday in Dakar.

The 7Up Project aims to build capacities for efficient competition schemes in West Africa.

Speaking at a national training workshop on policy and competition law, Chartier noted that “the application of competition rules is based on an analysis of strategies of players according to a defined mechanism.

He estimates that competition creates a rivalry between the companies, encouraging them to reduce prices for consumers, especially those with limited incomes.

In a competitive environment, companies are also obliged to reduce their costs to maintain profits which lead to better use of production factors, the consultant noted.

“Competition drives inefficient companies to stop producing or change activity, and efficient companies to invest in sectors where demand is high and supply limited in order to benefit from future profit,” he said.

The national training workshop on policy and competition law is organized by the Consortium for Social and Economic Research (CRES) and the Centre for competition, investment and economic regulation (CUTS).

It lasts three days and allows participants (civil society, state officials and private sector, parliamentarians and media) to absorb the various aspects of competition law particularly the horizontal agreement concept, the abuse of dominance or unfair trade practices.

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