Presently, there is no overarching competition legislation or regime in Ghana. Ghana, however, has sector specific laws that regulate competition in the relevant sectors, including the insurance sector for example. Although a new Insurance Act, 2021 (Act 1061) has been passed, the change of control provisions still require the prior approval of the National Insurance Commission, where there is to be a transfer of all or part of an insurance business, or merger of an insurance business with another business.
Also, a draft Competition and Fair-Trade Practices Bill (“Competition Bill”) is before parliament but has not yet been passed into law. The principal objective of the Competition Bill is to maintain and encourage competition in markets, to promote and ensure fair and free competition, and to protect the welfare and interests of consumers.
Under the Competition Bill, provision is made for the establishment of a Competition Commission of Ghana. The mandate of the Commission would be to monitor trading practices in the country, to ensure fair trade practices and prevent restrictive trade practices.
Local counsel are not aware of any plans by any industry regulator to initiate any market inquiries in any sector or industry in Ghana.
Local counsel are not aware of any publicly expressed concerns by any industry regulator in relation to any industry or sector.
Local counsel are not aware of any specific sectors identified by any industry regulator as strategic or key sectors for purposes of competition law enforcement.
No. There is no competition law regulator in Ghana, and local counsel are not aware of dawn raids being conducted by sector regulators, in relation to competition in their respective sectors.
No. Local counsel are not aware of any new regulations or measures related to competition, introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Local counsel are not aware of any competition legislation introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There is no competition authority in Ghana and the sectoral competition legislation largely focus on change of control.
In the energy sector, the rates charged by the public utilities must be in accordance with guidelines provided by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (“PURC”). The PURC generally publishes approved rates in the national Gazette every quarter and all public utilities are required to have their rates approved by the PURC.
In the telecommunications sector, although the National Communications Authority (“NCA”) is mandated to act where it determines anticompetitive pricing. Local counsel are not aware of an instance where the NCA has exercised its authority.
No. Local counsel are not aware of any new regulations or measures that will apply to firms that are active in the digital market space.