News

Christmas Consumer Tips 2015

Dear Consumers,

Christmas is upon us once again.  It is the time of glad tidings and cheer but it is also the season to be especially vigilant.  Consumers are encouraged to not only be wise but to be safe.  Consumer Affairs Agencies in the CSME have come together to compile a few tips to assist you during the holidays. Please click here for the complete list.

NEW COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED TO CCC

                                                        PRESS RELEASE
APPOINTMENT OF NEW COMMISSIONERS TO THE CARICOM COMPETITION COMMISSION

The CARICOM Competition Commission (CCC) is pleased to announce the appointment of two new Commissioners, Mr. Nestor Alfred and Mr. DeCourcey Eversley effective October 16, 2015. The Commissioners were sworn in by Sir Dennis Byron, Chairman of the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission (RJLSC), and witnessed by Dr. Kusha Haraksingh, Chairman of the CCC.
The incoming Commissioners have been appointed for a term of five years in the first instance. They replace Dr. Maureen Paul who is now Head of Retail Market Analysis at the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) in the United Kingdom, and Dr. Barton Scotland, who is now Speaker of the National Assembly of the Parliament of Guyana. They join sitting Commissioners, Chairman Dr. Kusha Haraksingh; Mr. Patterson Keith Herman Cheltenham, G.C.M., Q.C; Mr. Hans Rudolf Lim A Po; and Ambassador A. B. Stewart Stephenson.
The CCC was established to help enforce the CARICOM Rules of Competition and to regulate competition in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). Its principle functions are to apply the rules of competition, promote competition, and to assist Member States to protect consumers.

Mr. Nestor Alfred is a Financial/Management Consultant. He has extensive experience within the financial services sector in areas ranging from auditing; banking (offshore/domestic); taxation and financial regulation/supervision. Mr. Alfred has also acquired expertise in the area of Anti Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT). He is a trained AML/CFT Mutual Evaluator (IMF/World Bank) and served as the financial expert for Guyana’s first Mutual Evaluation conducted by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force.
Prior to being a Consultant, Mr. Alfred served as an Executive within the East Caribbean Financial Holding Group;  a former Director of St. Lucia Financial Sector Supervision and Registrar of Insurance; former Assistant Comptroller of Inland Revenue- St. Lucia and former banker. He holds a BSc. Management Studies from the University of the West Indies, and an MBA from Henley Management College/Brunel University (UK).

Mr. DeCourcey Eversley, an Attorney at Law, is the former Director of Fair Competition at the Barbados Fair Trading Commission, where he was advisor to the Commission on Competition Law and Policy for over ten years. Mr. Eversley is currently in private practice specialising in Civil and Company Law and is a Non-Governmental Advisor with the International Competition Network (ICN). He holds a BSc. in Economics and a MSc. in Industrialisation, Trade and Economic Policy. He also holds an LLB and a MA in EC Competition Law from King’s College, University of London.

CCC participates in Latin American Competition Forum 2015

The 13th Latin American Competition Forum (LACF)  was held in Montego Bay, Jamaica on 23-24 September 2015. It was hosted by the Jamaica Fair Trading Commission (FTC). The LACF 2015 was notable for being the first occasion in which an English speaking member state of the LACF was hosting the forum. The LACF is jointly sponsored by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The LACF’s objective is to promote dialogue, consensus building and networking between the region’s competition policymakers and law enforcers, and to identify and disseminate best practices in competition law and policy in a collegial setting.

The agenda for the 13th LACF included three sessions:
i)    Structural issues in the groceries sector: Mergers and regulatory issues;
ii)    Measuring competition advocacy's impact in Latin America and the Caribbean; and
iii)    Competition issues in the groceries sector: Focus on conduct.

The CARICOM Competition Commission (CCC) contributed to the second item on the agenda by submitting and presenting a paper on its efforts in measuring the impact of its competition advocacy. The paper can be accessed at http://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=DAF/COMP/LACF(2015)3&docLanguage=En

In addition, as with the previous 12 meetings, the morning of the first day of the LACF was devoted to celebrating the national competition day of the host country. The theme of  Jamaica Competition Day focused on developments in the ITC sector, under the title: “Transforming Jamaica Digitally: From Flintstones to Jetsons”. Chairman of the CCC, Dr. Kusha Haraksingh, was one of the guest speakers who provided opening remarks at the Jamaica Competition Day Seminar.

Commission and NCAs benefit from Advanced Training in Competition Law

On 17-22 September 2015, the CARIFORUM Directorate and Equinoccio successfully conducted the first segment of training on competition law and policy under the EPA Capacity Building Project. The “Advanced Training of Trainers Programme in Competition Law” was held in Montego Bay, Jamaica. It was attended by representatives from:

•    CARICOM Competition Commission
•    Jamaica Fair Trading Commission,
•    Barbados Fair Trading Commission,
•    Pro competencia, the national competition authority of the Dominican Republic, and
•    Legal Department of the CARIFOUM Directorate

The training programme was coordinated by Mr. Patrick Martens of Equinoccio and Dr. Taimoon Stewart of the University of the West Indies. Professor Frédéric Jenny delivered the training modules to regional competition practitioners. Dr Frédéric Jenny is  Professor of Economics at ESSEC Business School in Paris, Judge at the Supreme Court of France (Cour de Cassation) and Chairman of the OECD Competition Law and Policy Committee. He has written extensively on Industrial Organization, Competition law, Trade and Economic Development. Professor Jenny shared his wealth of experience from the enforcement, judicial and policy development spheres to give important insights on the nuances of the application of competition law and policy in different jurisdictions.
To secure the services of an international competition expert such as Professor Jenny was hailed by all of the participants as a step forward in advancing the enforcement of competition policy and law in CARIFORUM.
The Commission must commend the CARIFORUM Directorate, Equinoccio (Mr. Patrick Martens), Dr. Stewart and Professor Jenny for a thorough and thought provoking learning experience that improved the skill sets of staff from the CARICOM Competition Commission, and other National Competition Authorities. This type of training bodes well for the further development of a CARICOM jurisprudence  on competition law and policy.

CCC Quarterly Report April -June 2015

This report highlights the work of the CARICOM Competition Commission (Commission) for the second quarter of 2015, in the areas of competition law and policy, and consumer welfare and protection in the CARICOM region. The work of the Commission is guided by the institution’s mandate under Chapter VIII of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC). Consequently, the document is structured to highlight the relevant provisions within the RTC under which each activity falls. For the full report please click here.

Chairman Dr. Kusha Haraksingh participates in the Seventh UN Review Conference

Chairman Dr. Kusha Haraksingh participates in the Seventh UN Review Conference (UN Set), 6-10th July 2015

The Seventh UN Review Conference marks the 35th anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices (UN Set). For the full article please click here.

CCC Completes Preliminary Examination Of CWC Acquisition

The CARICOM Competition Commission has completed the Preliminary Examination of CWC Agreement to Acquire Columbus pursuant to Article 176.1 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC). This media release provides Governments, consumers and business with an update on the work conducted by the Commission, the findings to date in regard to this transaction, and the next steps in the process. For the full media release please click here.

CCC Quarterly Report January - March 2015

This report highlights the work of the CARICOM Competition Commission (CCC) for the first quarter of 2015, in the areas of competition law and policy and consumer welfare and protection in the CARICOM region. The work of the CCC is guided by the institution’s mandate under Chapter VIII of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC). Consequently, the document is structured to highlight, in some cases, the relevant provisions within the RTC that each activity falls under. For the full report please click here.

World Consumer Rights Day 2015 Activities in CARICOM

Given the high prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases in the Caribbean, it is only fitting that this year’s theme for World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) be “Healthy Diets”, and that the regional consumer protection community turn its attention to this issue. For a list of some of the activities undertaken in CARICOM to promote WCRD 2015 and this year's theme please click here

CCC Statement on World Consumer Rights Day 2015

Annually, on 15 March, WCRD provides an opportunity for consumer organisations to draw attention to the important role that consumer protection policies and laws play in making societies safer and fairer. Given the high prevalence of NCDs in the Caribbean, it is only fitting that this year’s theme for World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) be “Healthy Diets”, and that the regional consumer protection community turn its attention to this issue. For the full statement please click here.