Lunch event in Accra will review accomplishments, explore possibility of extending UNCTAD project to Africa
Accra, 22 April 2008 — African countries have expressed interest in a three-year-old UNCTAD programme that has helped to foster fair competition and consumer protection in five Latin American nations. A 23 April luncheon meeting during the UNCTAD XII conference in Accra, Ghana, will explore whether support can be obtained to expand the programme to a new region.
COMPAL (from the Spanish acronym COMpetencia América Latina), which began in November 2004, seeks to improve the abilities of the governments of Bolivia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Peru to establish laws and policies that effectively spur competition. The intended result is hardier, more competitive businesses, accelerated economic growth, and better prices and product safety for consumers. The programme is funded by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of Switzerland.
Among COMPAL´s activities to date have been internships organized by the Swiss Competition Commission (COMCO); training for judges responsible for competition law enforcement; consumer protection workshops; and the distribution of manuals and guidelines for the establishing national competition and consumer-protection agencies.
Reviews of the programme indicate it has achieved changes in attitudes in the participating countries, particularly among governments and regulators, about the role of markets in promoting economic growth and development. It also has brought about changes among businesses, making them more eager to compete on their own and less inclined to rely on public support.
At the 1-3 p.m. lunch event at the premises of the UNCTAD XII conference located in Accra International Conference Centre, a flier will be distributed describing the programme in detail and a presentation will be made by the main COMPAL beneficiaries as well as UNCTAD´s Competition and Consumer Protection Branch.
Other developing countries, particularly in Africa, have expressed interest in COMPAL, and UNCTAD is launching a call for potential new donors so that the programme might be expanded and implemented in other regions, perhaps in amended form and in cooperation with other institutions.
