NRG-III Meeting

Accra (Ghana), October 29, 2014

CREW Project Holds Third National Reference Group Meeting
Ghana.gov.gh, November 03, 2014

The third meeting of the National Reference Group of the CREW project to examine key findings from research undertaken on two sectors of the economy—bus transport and maize— has taken place in Accra.

It was organized by the Ghana Office of the Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) International.

The outcome of the meeting is expected to guide CUTS in the process of developing an advocacy strategy to determine how the findings could be incorporated into a relevant and sustainable competition policy and law for the country.

Delivering the keynote address, Mr Kofi Amenya, Director, Legal Affairs, Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI), commended CUTS and its research partner, the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), for their efforts in undertaking interventions on trade and development, economic regulation and investment, competition policy and law, and consumer protection issues.

Mr Amenya pledged MoTI’s commitment to working with CUTS to engage with the Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Food and Agriculture on the findings.

He said the Trade and Industry Ministry had been in collaboration with CUTS on Competition and Consumer protection issues for quite some time, and, therefore, considered the organization a long-term partner in this area, adding that the initiation of the CREW project in Ghana testified CUTS’ long-term interest in promoting fair markets in Ghana, especially in the interest of the ordinary Ghanaian consumers and small producers.

He disclosed that Cabinet had approved the Consumer Protection Bill for onward forwarding to Parliament.

The CREW Project stands for Competing Reforms in Key Markets for Enhancing Social and economic Welfare in Developing countries.

The project, involving three Ministries— Transport, Food and Agriculture, and Trade and Industry, with ISSER as its research partner —is to demonstrate measurable benefits from an effective competition policy and law regime in developing countries for ensuring competition reforms.

The Ghana Office of CUTS International, with funding support from the Business Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund, recently launched a project referred to as the Competition and Advocacy Project (COMPAD Project).

The 15-month project, titled “Advocating for a Functional Competition Regime/ Framework,” is to be implemented in three phases, with the aim of complementing government’s efforts towards evolving a functional national competition policy and law in Ghana.

Ghana as a country does not have a functional competition regime and it is the hope of Government and the Ministry that the efforts of CUTS from the CREW and COMPAD projects would feed into developing a sustainable competition policy and law for the country.

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http://article.wn.com/