Engaging Civil Society to Promote Competitive Reforms in Developing Countries SEMINAR ON COMPETITION LAW AND CONSUMER WELFARE 3 rd November, 2011, Malaysia Udai S. Mehta Asst. Director, CUTS & Centre Coordinator, CCIER

Outline  About CUTS  Overview of Experiences  CSOs participation in evolution of a competition regime  Impediments in engagement: CSOs  Conclusion & Way Forward World Competition Day 2

3 CUTS International  Genesis: Consumer rights organisation est. in 1983  Broad areas of work: Trade, Regulation and Governance  Active programmes on competition, economic regulation and consumer policy and law issues in 30 countries of Africa, and Asia…. and growing

4 How we began in 1984…. Matchbox Story Gram Gadar (Village Revolution)

5 Overview of Experiences  Completed projects in more than 30 developing countries across Asia and Africa  In a nutshell, the important considerations: Convergence between competition and consumer protection policies: Consumer Welfare and Business Welfare Limited resources within the institutions

6 CSO Participation in Evolution Stage I: Evolution of a Competition Law  Long term planning Botswana  Clear Policy Directives To engage civil society organisations – Kenya, Zambia and Gambia Seek their participation -- “Working Group on Competition Policy’ in Mozambique and India  Public Consultation Opportunity to provide comments on draft laws – Ghana, India, Bangladesh, Zambia, Vietnam, etc Builds up interest, knowledge and ownership  Create a Culture of Competition

7 CSO Participation in Evolution (cont’d) Stage II: Developing the Environment  Sensitisation of Multiple Stakeholders Bottom Up Approach (7Up Model)7Up Model  Academic curricula in Universities Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India and Vietnam  Motivating Research on Competition: Market Research Studies DFID, Bangladesh Competition Commission, Kenya Ministry of Corporate Affairs, India  Media has a prominent role to play

8 CSO Participation in Evolution (cont’d) Stage III: Actual Implementation of Law  CSOs working as Allies Limitations pertaining to human and financial resources Need to develop synergies with civil society organisations Pro-active civil society engagement

9 Impediments in Civil Society Engagement  Lack of Continuity Garnering resources for functioning Developing capacity Continuous engagement  Contradictions and Conflicts When many CSOs working on policy issues Differences of opinion Difficulty to form consensus  Limited understanding of concepts among Civil Society  Conducive environment for CSO engagement

10 Conclusion & Way Forward Conclusion  Strong political will, commitment and vision  Build capacity of CSOs on competition law & policy issues  Ability of CSOs to sensitise other stakeholders  Identify and report anti-competitive practices  Commitment from the International Development Community  Networking (International Network for CSO on Competition (INCSOC)INCSOC Way Forward  Declare and observe a World Competition DayWorld Competition Day

11 Terima kasih CUTS INTERNATIONAL D-217, Bhaskar Marg, Bani Park, Jaipur , India Ph: ; Fx: /2485 Em: ; Web: ;

ANNEXURES 12

The 7UP Model for Competition Reforms

7Up Coverage 14 7UpCountries 7Up 1India, Kenya, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Zambia 7Up 2Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Lao PDR, Nepal and Vietnam 7Up 3Botswana, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia and Uganda 7Up 4Anglophone: Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and The Gambia Francophone: Burkina Faso, Cote D'Ivoire, Senegal and Togo 7Up5 (Proposed) South East Asia? MENA region?

We did make a difference….. Facilitated forward movement for enactment of law in Bangladesh, Ghana, etc Significant media attention to create awareness Creation of a network for CSOs – INCSOC Understanding of partner organisations were improved Inclusion of CSO representatives: – Jyoti Baniya, Nepal appointed member of the Competition Promotion Board – Omar Jobe, Gambia appointed as Commissioner of Gambia Competition Commission – Mbissane Ngom, Sengal appointed as Vice-Chairman of Senegalese Competition Agency 15

16 International Network for Civil Society Organisations on Competition (INCSOC)INCSOC  A Network of 120 members from 53 countries  Members represent CSOs, Research Institutes and Parliaments  Close contact with international organisations Milestone Publication  Competition Regimes in the World – A Civil Society Report

World Competition Day World Competition Day - 05 th December  UN General Assembly adopted the UN Set on Competition Policy on 5 th December 1980  Occasion to propagate the benefits of competitive markets and harmful effects of anticompetitive behaviour to citizens  Competition Agencies: Namibia, Pakistan, Russia, Zimbabwe, OFT, Fiji, etc  2 nd Call for WCD for 05 th, December, 2011: “Cartels and its harmful effects on Consumers” Please, visit us on Facebook Page: 17