A consultative forum has been held on a proposed draft Competition Law and Policy for Ghana. It aimed at protecting competition and ensuring that it is not undermined by actions that would make competition ineffective.As part of processes to deepen the discussion on the subject to ensure that there is an efficient and effective competition regime in Ghana the one day workshop brought together stakeholders including lawyers, public officers and civil society interest groups among others. It was organized for stakeholders on Thursday at organized under the auspices of BentiEnchil and Letsa with support from MultiChoice.The forum provided participants the platform to share relevant experiences regarding the application and enforcement of an effective competition.A Director at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Kofi Amenyah, who gave a background and overview of the draft documents noted among others that the bill, if passed into law will harness the benefits of competition to promote lower prices, lead to increased quantity, innovation, quality and choice to the benefit of consumers and society.
The Center Coordinator of CUTS International – consultants to the Competition Law, Appiah Kusi Adomako, said plans are far advanced to ensure that the draft bill gets to Parliament by the end of January 2019. He is hopeful that Ghana will have a Competition Law by the end of next year.
James Hodge, an Economics Expert from Genesis Analytics, took the participants through the Role of Economics in Competition Law Enforcement where he gave some useful insights into Economic foundations and legal approaches as well as the main components of Competition Law among others.
A Former Chief Executive Officer of the Competition Authority of Botswana, Thula Kaira, gave a presentation on Institutional Frameworks and Best Practice in Competition Law Enforcement.
He proffered that the best Institutional structure for the Competition Agency is one that would allow the agency to be financially independent from governmental influence.
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