1 Strengthening Constituencies for Effective Competition Regime in The Gambia Key Research Findings and Key Issues: Omar Ousman Jobe (Policy & Budget Analyst, Pro-PAG National Reference Group Meeting (NRG II) Seaview Hotel, 30 th October 2009 Garba Jahumpa Road, Bakau, K.S.M.D. The Gambia. * Tel: (220) Fax: (220)

2 Emerging Issues for Discussion Garba Jahumpa Road, Bakau, K.S.M.D. The Gambia. * Tel: (220) Fax: (220)

3 1. Progress made towards Operationalising the Competition Laws Despite the adoption of the law, its implementation is taking long due to human, financial and technical constraints. Insufficient funding of regulatory agencies and regulatory activities Absence of consumer awareness and consumer groups to contribute to the regulatory process Garba Jahumpa Road, Bakau, K.S.M.D. The Gambia. * Tel: (220) Fax: (220)

4 2. Investigation of Competition abuses at all levels Firms taking advantage of the non-existence of a Telecoms Act in the industry to engage in anti- competitive tendencies in the Gambian economy. Vertical agreements between importers and distributors have been observed. The consumer goods market for rice, cooking oil and sugar gives clear example of this kind of practice. Tied-selling is common; e.g. a wholesaler interested in sugar has to buy rice on credit from the importers. That would also be the condition for accessing certain goods on credit basis whilst paying for others upfront.

5 3. Interface between competition and sector regulation  A framework of cooperation between the Competition Commission and the other Regulatory Authority on how to jointly exercise their mandate of ensuring fair competition in the regulated sectors is missing.  Sector regulators need to be shielded from undue interference by the policy makers, lobby groups, political clients and other actors driven by their vested interests Garba Jahumpa Road, Bakau, K.S.M.D. The Gambia. * Tel: (220) Fax: (220)

6 4. Perception Analysis  A general lack of awareness of existence of competition laws among respondents from the business sector in The Gambia. The existence of regulatory authorities is however generally known. General perception that competition issues are not understood in the economy, where lack of advertising is cited as a contributory factor. Competition issues are rarely reported in the media due to the lack of awareness of competition issues by journalists.

7 5. Competition Issues in the Agriculture Sector In the commodity sectors of rice, onion, Irish potatoes and flour, there exists a series of collusive agreement in the selling price. The main importers concur to fix prices, thus leading to the hike in retail price in the shops. Monopolisation of the groundnut processing facilities and exportation giving rise to anticompetitive practices in the groundnut sector.

8 6. Monopoly Situations: The existence of such a monopoly which is poorly run is by nature anti-competitive. In the absence of alternatives, the consumers may not be getting the best value for their money. All the GSM operators in the country namely, Africell, Comium, and Qcell are obliged to use the GAMTEL International Gateway for both voice and data. Garba Jahumpa Road, Bakau, K.S.M.D. The Gambia. * Tel: (220) Fax: (220)

9 Monopoly Situations: The international revenue flowing from the International Gateway is like a lifeline for GAMTEL to subsidize local calls; otherwise it would be difficult for GAMTEL to cope and to continue providing fixed telephone services. The refusal by the Department of State for Communication and Information Technology (DOSCIT) to grant licenses to interested parties to have their own TV stations is undoubtedly restricting competition.

10 Transport and Communications Ferry Services is not open to competition. Garba Jahumpa Road, Bakau, K.S.M.D. The Gambia. * Tel: (220) Fax: (220)

11 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION ! ! Garba Jahumpa Road, Bakau, K.S.M.D. The Gambia. * Tel: (220) Fax: (220)