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7Up3 Partners’ Meeting On the sidelines of the International Competition Conference in Mauritius, 29 March 2007. Rijit Sengupta CUTS International. Impacts and Achievements. Civil Society – pioneering competition research in Africa
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7Up3 Partners’ MeetingOn the sidelines of the International Competition Conference in Mauritius, 29 March 2007 Rijit Sengupta CUTS International
Impacts and Achievements • Civil Society – pioneering competition research in Africa • Has helped raise the profile of Competition Policy and Law in the region • Felt-Need for Capacity Development and Skills Training in line Ministries/Competition Agencies • Developments in Regional Authorities (COMESA, EAC, SADC, AU Commission) and their inter-linkages with the 7Up3 project outcomes • Identification of issues for more focused research in the project countries
Focus of the activities • Advocacy – national stakeholder dialogues, interactions with the press, public education through newspaper articles • Training – training of select national stakeholders, engaged and interested with operationalising competition • Networking – knowledge and experience sharing
Activities National Training Workshops • In conjunction with the 4th National Reference Group meeting • Months: April – June • Issues: Need for Competition Policy • Agenda: to be prepared and discussed with partners, etc. • International Resource Persons (would need to be intimated well in advance)
Competition Toolkit • A unique product, handbook for competition policy and law implementation • Template already ready • Contributions from partners and other country experts (from NRG) required • Set a deadline for this work to be completed
Periodical Publications • Business Welfare aspect of Competition Policy (proposed by Reshma Peerun, Mauritius) • Impact of privatisation on competition (proposed by Temwa Gondwe and Maxton Tsoka, Malawi) • Competition Policy and Law and the Impact on the Poor (proposed by Henry Kimera, Uganda) • Political Will and Competition Administration (showcasing experience from Mauritius and Uganda) • Competition as means of regulating TNC behaviour (especially useful for countries like Namibia and Botswana, facing onslaught of South African companies)
Future Research themes • Competition Policy and Pro-poor Growth • Sectoral Studies on Competition (eg. Agriculture, Informal Sector) • Impact of Privatisation on Competition in the market • Analyse the linkages between Competition and Consumer Protection (in terms of need for having hybrid laws and agencies to administer these legislations) • Competition Law as a means to regulate TNCs behaviour