Training Seminar On “ Competition Policy And Law” For The Ethiopian Competition Authority, (Cps.02)
March 29-30, 2006, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Organized By
The CUTS Institute for Regulation and Competition (CIRC) In Collaboration With: Trade Practices Investigation Commission, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ethiopia

The training seminar on Competition Policy & Law was held at Hilton Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This was organized in collaboration with the Ethiopian competition authority, the Trade Practices Investigation Commission, and was meant primarily for the officials of the Trade Practices Investigation Commission.

However, officials from other related government departments and agencies as well as a couple of consumer activists also participated.

The objectives of the two-day training seminar were:
–Develop analytical capacities to comprehend competition policy and law issues, their perspectives and linkage with the industry and the economy.
–Understand the expected role of different stakeholders and groups in order to ensure competitiveness of the markets and accelerate economic growth.

This two-day training seminar began with opening remarks by Nitya Nanda, Faculty, CUTS Institute for Regulation and Competition (CIRC) and Coordinator of the programme. He also made a presentation on “Principles of Competition Policy and Challenges in its Implementation”.

The training programme covered several areas related to Competition Policy & Law: Basic Concepts & Objectives of Competition Law and Policy; Experiences from developing country competition authorities; the Main Areas of Competition Law Implementation. However, keeping in view with the structure of competition law in Ethiopia, discussions with mergers and acquisitions were kept at minimum, while one elaborate session was held on Unfair Trade Practices. Several case studies related to different types of anti-competitive practices and unfair trade practices were also presented.

Some highlights of the event are as follows
–Sessions were designed in way so as to have sufficient time for floor interventions. This increased the level of participation in each session.
–Participants showed an eagerness to learn and found the course content good. Case study approach enabled an overall participation.
–The objective to build capacity of the participants on basic issues of competition policy and law was achieved as the seminar covered all the relevant aspects of competition policy and law.
–The course content was customised to fit the requirements of the officials of the Ethiopian competition authority and other stakeholders of the country.

Apart from Nitya Nanda, the other resource persons in the seminar included:
–John Preston, Competition Policy Consultant, Private Sector Policy Department, DFID, London
–Zablon Kahura, Deputy Commissioner, Monopolies and Prices Commission, Kenya
–Thulasoni Kaira, Director (Mergers & Acquisitions), Zambia Competition Commission, Zambia
–Cezley Sampson, National Director, Energy Efficiency, Jamaica also made a brief appearance and shared his experiences with the participants.