On Tuesday 6th February 2024, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Consumer Protection Commission of Sierra Leone (NCPC), Mr Lawrence Bassie, and the Supervisor of the Customer Relations and Communications Department of the Commission, Mrs Bernadette B. Fullah, are currently attending the 8th Statutory Meeting of the Competition Consultative Committee (CCC) of the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority (ERCA), which is being held from 06-08 February 2024 in Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The meeting is aimed at finalizing and validating a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority (ERCA) and the National Competition Authorities (NCA) for cooperation in data collection and the administration of the ECOWAS Competition Information System (ECIS), for which Sierra Leone has received training on its rollout.
In addition, the meeting will also review the Terms of Reference of a market study that ERCA intends to undertake in close collaboration with the NCAs. Finally, the meeting will elect the Bureau of the Consultative Competition Committee for the next four years (2024-2027).
Sierra Leone’s participation in this meeting is part of its preparation for developing a Competition law to ensure equitable and fair trade within the country, the region, and the African Continent. This meeting comes in the wake of an ERCA Mission that visited the country from 21-27 January 2024, which saw the signing of a grant agreement with the Republic of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The grant will support the Government to develop a Competition Law and put Sierra Leone in good stead when it comes to consumer protection and competition in the sub-region. When in Sierra Leone, the ERCA held fruitful talks with various stakeholders, including Civil Society groups dealing with Consumer issues, the Legislature, the Law Officers Department, the Bar Association, the business community and banks.
During these meetings frank discussions were held, with the various stakeholders making their inputs into the kind of Competition Law that they want for the country, bearing in mind that it should also embrace the regional and continental framework, with the sole aim of ensuring free trade, economic development and revenue generation.
The meeting in Nigeria continues.
