Diop: Competition Policy Must Drive ECOWAS Economic Transformation By Isatou Jawara
President of the ECOWAS Commission, General Birame Diop, has called for stronger implementation of competition policy across West Africa, describing it as a critical instrument for economic transformation, consumer protection, innovation and deeper regional integration.
Diop made the call at the inaugural annual conference of the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority (ERCA) in Bijilo, The Gambia, where he said competition policy must occupy a central position in the region’s broader economic transformation agenda.
The three-day conference, holding from September 15 to 17 under the theme, “Competition Policy and Market Integration in ECOWAS: Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities,” has brought together policymakers, competition authorities, private-sector representatives, development partners and other stakeholders to examine how competition can strengthen regional markets.
According to Diop, effective competition promotes efficiency, stimulates innovation, protects consumers and creates an enabling environment for businesses to grow.
“Competition policy is strategically important. It promotes efficiency, innovation and protects consumers. It creates an environment where enterprises can grow,” he said.
He recalled that ECOWAS began developing its regional competition framework in the mid-2000s as part of efforts to establish a stronger regional competition regime and ensure that markets operate fairly across member states.
Diop said effective implementation of the framework had become even more critical as West Africa seeks to transform its economies, expand productive capacity and strengthen its position in the global marketplace.
“Competition policy must accompany our broader economic transformation effort,” he said, urging member states to move beyond the export of raw materials by increasing local processing, value addition and industrial production.
“We must produce more and process more and create more value in our sub-region,” he added.
The ECOWAS Commission President also stressed the need to build stronger regional enterprises capable of creating jobs, expanding investment and contributing to sustainable economic growth.
He called for an accelerated development of regional value chains, arguing that West Africa could no longer afford to function primarily as a collection of fragmented national markets.
“Our ambition must be to build a regional market,” Diop said.
He said achieving that ambition would require stronger cooperation among institutions, improved regulatory frameworks and sustained collective action by member states and relevant regional bodies.
Diop further argued that regional integration must translate into tangible economic benefits for citizens rather than remain largely an institutional or political objective.
He said stronger regional value chains would allow West African countries to produce, process and trade more within the region, while creating greater opportunities for businesses and workers.
The Commission President also identified the rapidly expanding digital economy as a new frontier for competition policy, noting that digital platforms and emerging technologies are creating new business models while reshaping the way economies operate.
He said the developments present both opportunities and new challenges for competition authorities, making it necessary for regional institutions to continually adapt their regulatory approaches and ensure that the gains of digital transformation are broadly accessible.
For Diop, the challenge is therefore no longer simply to establish competition rules, but to ensure their effective implementation in ways that support productive economies, stronger enterprises, job creation, regional value addition and a genuinely integrated ECOWAS market.
The conference is expected to facilitate discussions on cross-border enforcement cooperation, harmonisation of national and regional competition frameworks and the contribution of competition policy to regional economic integration.
The ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority, based in The Gambia, is mandated to implement ECOWAS regional competition rules, monitor commercial activities, investigate potentially anti-competitive practices, protect consumer interests and address issues including abuse of dominance, anti-competitive agreements, mergers and acquisitions.
The conference is also expected to conclude with a declaration and policy recommendations aimed at strengthening competition policy and advancing market integration across the ECOWAS region.
