31

Over the past two decades, there has been growing interest in developing and improving competition laws in developing countries and in regional trade areas, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Broad economic and legal reforms aiming at promoting efficiency and the opening up of their markets to foreign direct investment were initiated in many developing countries. In this regard, economic integration was presented as a development tool. However, in many instances, the interfaces between development, integration, and competition law are still murky. The following contributions describe the efforts made in order to create a competitive environment in Africa, the difficulties involved in articulating national, sub-regional, and regional levels, and the complex relationships between sub-regional organizations such as ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), CEMAC (Economic Community of Central African States), and WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union). Anticompetitive practices such as cartels, abuse of market dominance, and other practices that restrict the operation of market forces could not only compromise economic efficiency but also hinder the development of small enterprises, especially in Africa, where the gray economy is very important. In recent years, public interest objectives have been added to the list of issues dealing with the economic empowerment of previously disadvantaged groups. In addition, the promotion of the development of small businesses has taken central stage. In this regard, unilateral restrictive business practices aiming at protecting small businesses have been included in some national competition laws, as in Senegal, but not in regional competition law. The authors of this special issue dealing with competition law and policy in West Africa are concerned with identifying the efficient competition policy design for West and Central Africa. Should competition policies be established at the regional level (principle of supra-nationality) and have precedence over member states' national competition policies in matters that have a regional dimension? Should competition policy be limited to cross-border restraints on competition and to restraints from outside the region, leaving national restraints to member states (principle of subsidiarity)? Although EU's competition rules may at first glance appear to be a good model for export as they seem less contextual than many other regulatory regimes, Drexl, Bakhoum, and Ngom have highlighted the fact that using EU competition rules and institutional design as a model should be carried out with a great deal of prudence. Rather, it should be tailored to the context of African societies.