A delegation of the COMESA Competition Commission (CCC) was in Mauritius between 5 and 14 February 2023. During this 10-day visit, several activities were organised, whereby the Competition Commission of Mauritius was actively involved. Some of the key events were as follows:
CCC Board Meeting
Mr Vipin Naugah, Head Investigations overseeing the legal and cartel department at the Competition Commission, and Commissioner on the Board of the COMESA Competition Commission (CCC) attended the CCC’s Board Meeting on 7 and 8 February 2023, at Voilà Bagatelle.
The Competition Commission is represented on the CCC board since its inception in 2013.
Awareness and Capacity Building Workshop
As part of its mandate to work together with, and to support competent competition and consumer protection authorities in the COMESA Member States, the CCC in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce and Consumer Protection, organised an Awareness and Capacity Building Workshop for Stakeholders on 9 and 10 February 2023, at Voilà Bagatelle. The workshop was focussed on the implementation and enforcement of competition and consumer protection laws.
Addressing the participants at the opening ceremony, the Executive Director of the Competition Commission, Mr Deshmuk Kowlessur, recalled the longstanding collaboration between the two authorities. He also underscored that the Competition Commission and the CCC are currently working on a project in view of establishing the relevant legal and procedural framework underpinning the enforcement cooperation mechanism between the two authorities.
Moreover, Mr Vipin Naugah, Head Investigations overseeing the legal and cartel department at the Competition Commission gave a presentation on the main components of the Competition Act, the cases handled and the challenges faced by the institution.
Click here to view the coverage by the MBC
Courtesy Call
The Director and Chief Executive Officer of the CCC, Dr Willard Mwemba and the Chairperson of the CCC Board, Ms Ellen Ruparanganda, paid a courtesy call on the Executive Director and the Chairperson of the Competition Commission, Mr Deshmuk Kowlessur and Mr Mahmad Aleem Bocus, respectively, on 13 February 2023. The meeting was held at the seat of the Competition Commission.
Other representatives from the CCC were as follows: Mr. Steven Kamukama, Manager Consumer Welfare Division; Ms. Meti Disasa, Registrar and Ms Alexia Waweru, Senior Legal Officer. The Commissioners of the Competition Commission were also present, namely, Mrs Vedwantee Bikhoo, Mrs Sharda Devi Dindoyal and Mr Michael Lennon.
Press Conference
Dr Willard Mwemba, Director and Chief Executive Officer of the CCC, gave a press conference at Voilà Bagatelle, on 14 February 2023. Press members – both local and international – were informed about key enforcement, merger and consumer cases as well as landmark decisions taken by the CCC during 2022.
Five national television stations from the COMESA region came to Mauritius to follow this press conference. These were the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation and Nile TV International from Egypt. Notwithstanding some other international media who attended the conference virtually.
The Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation representative also had a question for Mr Deshmuk Kowlessur. The latter was asked about what Zambia could learn from Mauritius, to which the Executive Director briefly explained how the country grew through the opening of its economy, trade with its partners, the removal of tariff barriers, the development of new sectors, thus leading to job creation and attracting investment.
