Twenty-nine of the 32 surveyed African jurisdictions have national competition law, while only two have no national competition law but are members of a regional competition law body. This is illustrated in the map below:
KEY
Jurisdictions with national competition law
Jurisdictions with no national competition law but are part of a regional competition body
No. |
JURISDICTION |
DAWN RAIDS |
FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT REGIME |
MERGER FILING |
GUN-JUMPING LAWS |
HORIZONTAL / VERTICAL RESTRAINTS |
1. |
Algeria |
No Risk |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
Yes |
2. |
Angola |
No Risk |
Sector-Specific Laws |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
Yes |
No |
3. |
Botswana |
Low - Medium Risk |
No |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
Yes |
No |
4. |
Cameroon |
No Risk |
Yes |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
Yes |
5. |
Cape Verde |
No Risk |
Sector-Specific Laws |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
Yes |
No |
6. |
COMESA |
No Risk |
No |
Mandatory & Non- Suspensory |
Yes |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
7. |
Cote d’Ivoire |
Low-Medium Risk |
No |
Voluntary & Non- Suspensory |
No |
Yes |
8. |
Egypt |
High Risk |
No |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
Yes |
9. |
Eswatini |
No Risk |
No |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
Yes |
Yes |
10. |
Ethiopia |
High Risk |
Yes |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
Yes |
No |
11. |
Gabon |
No Risk |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
Yes |
Yes |
12. |
Gambia |
No Risk |
No |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
No |
13. |
Ghana |
No risk |
No |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
Yes |
Yes |
14. |
Kenya |
Medium Risk |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
Yes |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
15. |
Madagascar |
No risk |
Sector-Specific Laws |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
Yes |
Yes |
16. |
Malawi |
Medium Risk |
No |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
No |
Yes |
17 |
Mali |
No Risk |
No |
Voluntary & Non- Suspensory |
Yes |
No |
18. |
Mauritius |
High Risk |
No |
Voluntary & Non- Suspensory |
No |
Yes |
19. |
Morocco |
No Risk |
No |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
Yes |
Yes |
20. |
Mozambique |
No Risk |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
Yes |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
21. |
Namibia |
Low Risk |
No |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
Yes |
Yes |
22. |
Nigeria |
High Risk |
Yes |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
Yes |
Yes |
23. |
Rwanda |
Low Risk |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
Yes |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
24. |
Senegal |
No Risk |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
Voluntary & Non- Suspensory |
No |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
25. |
South Africa |
Medium - High Risk |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
Yes |
Yes |
26. |
Sudan |
No Risk |
Yes |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
Yes |
No |
27. |
Tanzania |
Low Risk |
No |
Voluntary & Non- Suspensory |
Yes |
Yes |
28. |
Togo |
No Risk |
No |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
No |
No |
29. |
Tunisia |
Moderate Risk |
Yes |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
Yes |
Yes |
30. |
Uganda |
No Risk |
No |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
No |
No |
31. |
Zambia |
Low Risk |
No |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
Yes |
Yes |
32. |
Zimbabwe |
Low Risk |
See Chapter for Further Detail |
Mandatory & Suspensory |
Yes |
Yes |
Over the past two years, African competition regulators have actively engaged in efforts to address these pandemic-related effects, however, there has also been a general upward trend in competition policy enforcement across the continent. A number of African jurisdictions have strengthened their competition and antitrust regimes by way of amendments to existing legislation, the introduction of new laws and regulations, and renewed fervour and political will to enforce existing laws. The notable changes in the surveyed countries are highlighted below:
Various African competition authorities have signed Memoranda of Understanding (“MOU”) to foster cooperation in the enforcement of competition policy and law. Specifically, there exists MOU between the national competition authorities of the countries set out below:
Over the years, regional competition agreements (RCAs) have been adopted in Africa in terms of which regional competition bodies have been established to enforce competition provisions. These RCAs generally offer deeper levels of integration and a higher degree of co-operation on competition enforcement.
The table below reflects regional bodies and instruments and the national authorities’ memberships:
Jurisdiction |
Regional Competition Bodies / Instruments |
|||||||
COMESA1 |
EAC2 |
WAEMU3 |
SADC4 |
AfCFTA5 |
ACF6 |
ECOWAS7 |
CEMAC8 |
|
Algeria |
x | x | x | x | / | / | x | x |
Angola |
x | x | x | / | / | / | x | x |
Botswana |
x | x | x | / | / | / | x | x |
Cameroon |
x | x | x | x | / | / | x | / |
Cape Verde |
x | x | x | x | / | x | / | x |
Cote d’Ivoire |
x | x | / | x | / | / | / | x |
Egypt |
/ | x | x | x | / | / | x | x |
Eswatini |
/ | x | x | / | / | x | x | x |
Ethiopia |
/ | x | x | x | / | / | x | x |
Gabon |
x | x | x | x | / | / | x | / |
Ghana |
x | x | x | x | / | / | / | x |
Kenya |
x | x | x | x | / | x | / | x |
Madagascar |
/ | / | x | x | / | / | x | x |
Malawi |
/ | x | x | / | / | / | x | x |
Mali |
x | x | / | x | / | / | / | x |
Mauritius |
/ | x | x | / | / | / | x | x |
Morocco |
x | x | x | x | / | / | x | x |
Mozambique |
x | x | x | / | / | / | x | x |
Namibia |
x | x | x | / | / | / | x | x |
Nigeria |
x | x | x | x | / | / | / | x |
Rwanda |
/ | / | x | x | / | / | x | x |
Senegal |
x | x | / | x | / | / | / | x |
South Africa |
x | x | x | / | / | / | x | x |
Sudan |
/ | x | x | x | / | x | x | x |
Tanzania |
x | / | x | / | / | / | x | x |
Togo |
x | x | / | x | / | / | / | x |
Tunisia |
/ | x | x | x | / | / | x | x |
Uganda |
/ | / | x | x | / | x | x | x |
Zambia |
/ | x | x | / | / | / | x | x |
Zimbabwe |
/ | x | x | / | / | / | x | x |
1 Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA): the authority responsible for the implementation of the regional competition provisions in the common market for Eastern and Southern Africa. It conducts investigations of cross-border anti-competitive cases and reviews merger transactions, co-operating where necessary with the National Competition Authorities of the Member States.
2 East African Community (EAC): the EAC Competition Act gives the EAC Competition Authority exclusive original jurisdiction in the determination of violations of the EAC Competition Act, i.e. anti-competitive behaviour that has cross-border effect.
3 West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU): The WAEMU Competition Commission has exclusive jurisdiction over competition provisions in the union.
4 Southern African Development Community (SADC): is an inter-governmental organisation, which aims to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security cooperation among 16 countries in southern Africa. SADC members signed and approved the Declaration on Competition and Consumer Policies in 2009 and cooperate on competition matters under various SADC committees / working groups.
5 African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): on 1 January 2021, trading began in African countries that had ratified the AfCFTA agreement and submitted their tariff offers. All countries in Africa, except for Eritrea, have now signed the agreement and 41 countries have ratified it so far, including most of Africa’s major economies (South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana, for example). Phase two of AfCFTA negotiations have begun, which include discussions on competition policy, investment protection and intellectual property rights, as well as deciding on the rules for governing trade on digital platforms. The intention is to conclude these negotiations by the end of 2022.
6 African Competition Forum (ACF): the ACF is an informal network of African national and multinational competition authorities. The principal objective of the ACF is to promote the adoption of competition principles in the implementation of national and regional economic policies of African countries.
7 Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS): is a regional political and economic of fifteen countries located in West Africa. The ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority is made responsible for enforcement of the regional competition provisions. It was established in 2008 but only launched on 12 July 2018 (hosted by Gambia).
8 Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC): the CEMAC Executive Secretariat is responsible for the implementation of the regional competition provisions in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community.