Sierra Leone Emphasizes Importance of Competition & Consumer Protection in Trade
Cotonou, Benin 23-26 September 2025
Chief Executive Officer of the National Consumer Protection Commission of Sierra Leone (NCPC), Mr. Lawrence Landi Bassie, and Ms. Janet Mammy Sesay, Assistant Director Entrepreneurial and Industrial Directorate in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, are attending the 11th ECOWAS Consultative Competition Committee (CCC) meeting at the Nobila Airport Hotel in Cotonou, Benin, which commenced on the 23 of September 2025.
The opening ceremony was graced by the ECOWAS Resident Representative to Benin Republic, H.E Amadou DIONGUE, the Executive Director of the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority (ERCA), Dr. Simeon Koffi, and the Deputy Director of Cabinet in the office of the Minister of Industry and Commerce of Benin, Md. Emile TIBOUTE-SAMA. All the speakers in their statements, expressed the importance of Competition and Consumer protection in promoting innovation, trade and development within the ECOWAS subregion.
The meeting will review the activities of the ERCA CCC Bureau since its inception in 2024, to discern progress that has been made in supporting the work of ERCA in protecting and promoting the rights of consumers through having in place effective consumer protection and competition regimes in the different Member States.
The focus will be on the status of competition laws and policies in the different ECOWAS member states, and how these key legislative frameworks, when established, are enforced in the interest of fair trade and protection of the welfare of consumers. These must strongly align with the ECOWAS Community Rules to address unfair and biased practices in ECOWAS markets. Such practices of rogue businesses include, but are not limited to, price fixing, existence of cartels, abuse of dominant positions and mergers and acquisitions, to name but a few.
The meeting will also consider and discuss the ERCA ongoing Cement Study by various member states as it relates to its manufacture, supply and distribution in the ECOWAS consumer markets, bearing in mind that this commodity is critical in the construction sector, which impacts the lives of almost all the people in the ECOWAS region.
Additionally, the meeting will extensively discuss and agree on the key needs of Member states in strengthening their consumer protection and competition institutions within the framework of the ‘Programme to support Competition and Safety of Consumer Products’ (PACoSPro)- the West Africa component (UEMOE/ECOWAS).
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