When markets are open and contestable, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) grow, consumers benefit and innovation in pricing improves.
Within commercial communities, there is a need to strengthen the outcomes by tackling cross-border abuse of dominance.
COMESA Competition and Consumer Commission (CCCC) Chief Executive Officer Dr Williard Mwemba noted that cross-border activity cannot be avoided where trade is the natural phenomenon of commerce.
He said there was a need for strengthened and effective competition policies within the bloc, and fostering alignment internationally as a strategy.
He said competition policy is not merely a taking of disputes, but it is fundamentally a tool of economic development.
He added that competition policy and competition laws are often viewed as addressing complicated and esoteric disputes. Dr Mwemba said it also enhances price and quality outcomes as well as attracting investors by ensuring predictable rule-based markets.
“Strengthening SME economies through competition or non-competition involves achieving three core outcomes; resilient markets with fewer barriers to entry and more great opportunities for entry and expansion, inclusive growth that enables SMEs including women and youth enterprises to access essential facilities, platforms, logistics, networks and more. Consumer goods are supported by transparency, safety, effective integration and fair pricing, hence the need to manage concentration, entry barriers and dominance. In some sectors, a single dominant firm may operate as a national monopoly reinforcing existing barriers to the underlying,” said Dr Mwemba.
Notably, in their quest to strengthen and enforce competition policies, the COMESA Competition and Consumer Commission recently unveiled the Competition and Consumer Protection Regulations and 2026-2030 Strategic Plan.
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Dr Mwemba emphasised that it was important to have a unique approach and practical approach to competition law enforcement in small economies. He said this was because conventional competition law tools designed for large and contestable markets may not adequately account for the structural constraints of limited demand, high concentration and geographic isolation.
“After all, we know that most competition law enforcement tools were developed in large, diversified economies which do not always account for the unique characteristics of most of the small economies,” added Dr Mwemba.
Additional Context
The push for stronger competition laws comes as regional blocs like COMESA seek to create fairer, more inclusive markets that support SMEs while addressing dominance by large firms. This is particularly critical for smaller economies such as Eswatini, where market concentration can limit growth opportunities.
