Competition and the AfCFTA : Building a Framework for Competition Regulation under the Free Trade Regime

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is one of the most significant developments in African commerce in recent history. The wide-reaching implications of the regime create an intricate set of corresponding situations that require regulatory resolution. One of the areas where regulatory coverage is most required is the competition element of the AfCFTA. This thesis chiefly concerns itself with competition regulation under the AfCFTA. It primarily seeks to examine the state of competition regulation in the context of the AfCFTA and ultimately explore solutions for the introduction of an effective regulatory framework for competitive activities in the form of the imminent Competition Protocol. Put simply, this thesis seeks to identify what the proposed Competition Protocol ought to look like. It takes into consideration, the unique situation of African competition law especially in the context of its two-tiered competition architecture. Ancillary to the primary goal, the thesis explores the state of competition regulation in the African continent. It identifies the state of development and enforcement of competition law in Africa across national and sub-regional frontiers. The thesis also finds that Africa indeed has a fair number of competition law regimes and a commendable rate of adoption over the last couple of years by states and regional economic communities. The dissertation presents an overview of these two tiers of competition regulation by selecting four national and sub-regional regimes respectively. These regimes are carefully selected from different zones in Africa and cut across East, West, Central, and Southern Africa. The thesis also examines foreign competition law regimes from Europe, North America, and Australia, with a view to extracting lessons with respect to competition models and enforcement patterns that may prove instructive to African states in the quest to develop an effective competition law regime for the AfCFTA. The thesis concludes by recommending the adoption of a minimum standards model for the AfCFTA’s Competition Protocol and the creation of a supervisory authority for the administration of the rules of the protocol