Online: The High Street Journal, September 27, 2025
Despite years of advocacy, Ghana’s Competition Bill remains stalled. The World Bank warns its absence weakens markets, harms consumers, and deters investment, reinforcing CSOs’ call for urgent passage to ensure fair competition and growth.
The advocacy for Ghana to pass a competition law championed by some Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) has been reinforced as the World Bank has joined the call for the need for such laws to enhance the country’s business environment.
For years, CUTS International, including others like IMANI Africa, have consistently pressed Ghana’s government to pass a Competition Law to protect consumers and create fairer markets.
Yet, despite years of advocacy and policy briefs, the bill remains stuck on the shelves gathering dust.
In a welcoming development, the World Bank has joined the chorus, warning in its 2025 Policy Notes on Ghana that the absence of a comprehensive Competition Act weakens Ghana’s business environment and undermines both local entrepreneurship and foreign investment.
The Bank argues that adopting such a law is critical to ensuring competitive markets, curbing monopolistic practices, and safeguarding consumers from exploitative pricing.
The Policy Notes document cited by The High Street Journal noted that “adopting a Competition Act to promote fair markets and protect consumers” is very necessary.
Ghanaian businesses and consumers alike continue to feel the pinch of the absence of a competition law. With no legal framework to prevent anti-competitive behavior, large firms dominate industries from telecoms to retail, leaving smaller businesses struggling to survive and consumers paying higher prices.
Advocates for the competition laws believe that the ongoing MultiChoice pricing row with the government, as well as MTN’s dominance, would have been better dealt with if there were laws in place.
The CSOs further argue that this persistent delay is costing the country not just money but also innovation, fair pricing, and investor confidence.
Aside from the call for the passage of competition laws, the World Bank further recommended other reforms to improve Ghana’s business-enabling environment. These include passing a new Investment Code, developing a clear FDI policy, and streamlining processes through digitalization.
“Adopting a new Investment Code and developing a comprehensive FDI policy; and (c) digitalizing and streamlining key business processes by deploying an integrated e-registration system, launching online portals for construction permits and property transfers and digital dispute resolution mechanisms,” the World Bank emphasized.
This World Bank’s intervention should serve as a wake-up call for the government. For the advocates, it is not enough to talk about investment attraction when rules that ensure fair competition in the market are not non-existent.
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