WWW.AU.INTREGIONS
INTRODUCTION
THE AFRICAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY (AEC)
CENTRAL AFRICA
ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF CENTRAL AFRICAN STATES (ECCAS)
ECCAS is a regional body comprised of 10 member States, namely Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe. It was formed by the signing of the Treaty in October 1983 and came into effect in December 1984. Its primary objective is to promote member States’ economic and social development and improving people’s living conditions. Article 4 of the Treaty outlined the Community’s objectives as:
- Achieve collective autonomy
- Raise the standard of living of its population
- Maintain economic stability through harmonious cooperation
From 1992 to 1998, activities were suspended due to crisis within its member States making its 4 priority fields even more important to follow. These are to: develop capacities to maintain peace, security, and stability as essential prerequisites for economic and social development; develop physical, economic and monetary integration; develop a culture of human integration; and establish an autonomous financing mechanism for ECCAS.
ECCAS’s supreme organ is the Conference of Heads of State or Government, but is also supported by the Council of Ministers, General Secretariat, Court of Justice, Technical specialised committees and Consultative Commission.
EAST AFRICA
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY (EAC)
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organization consisting of the six East African countries of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and South Sudan. The objectives of the Community are to develop policies and programmes aimed at spearheading the regional economic, social and political integration agenda and widening and deepening cooperation among the Partner States in various key spheres for their mutual benefit.
Its Treaty guides the works of the EAC. The Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community was signed in November 1999 and entered into force in July 2000 following the conclusion of the process of its ratification by all three original Partner States – Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The regional cooperation and integration envisaged in the EAC is broad based, as stated in Article 5(1) of the Treaty: “The objectives of the Community shall be to develop policies and programmes aimed at widening and deepening cooperation among the Partner States in political, economic, social and cultural fields, research and technology, defence, security and legal and judicial affairs for their mutual benefit.”
The main Organs of the EAC are the Summit, the Council of Ministers, the Co-ordinating Committee, the Sectoral Committees, the East African Court of Justice, the East African Legislative Assembly and the Secretariat.
The Summit comprising of Heads of Government of Partner States gives strategic direction towards the realisation of the goal and objectives of the Community. The Council of Ministers is the central decision-making and governing Organ of the EAC.
The Coordinating Committee, responsible for regional cooperation and coordination of sector-related activities. The Sectoral Committees, responsible for conceptualising programmes and monitoring their implementation.
The East African Court of Justice (or simply, the Court) is the principal judicial Organ of the Community and ensures adherence to the law in the interpretation and application of compliance with the EAC Treaty. The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is the Legislative Organ of the Community and has a cardinal function to further EAC objectives, through its Legislative, Representative and Oversight mandate.
The Secretariat, the executive organ responsible for initiating and coordinating the harmonization of policies and strategies relating to the development of the Community.
Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda were founding Members of the EAC. Rwanda and Burundi acceded to the EAC Treaty on 18 June 2007 and became full Members of the Community on 1 July 2007. Both countries joined the EAC Customs Union in July 2009. The Republic of South Sudan became the sixth Member of the EAC on 15 August 2016, having acceded to the Treaty on 15 April 2016.
The East African Community is led by its long term objective Vision 2050. The EAC has set out to define a clear long-term vision that will inspire all stakeholders towards a common development trajectory. The rationale for the Vision 2050 is to provide a catalyst for the region to enhance transformation for growth and development and move the community to a higher income cohort and subsequently achieve an upper middle-income status.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY ON DEVELOPMENT (IGAD)
IGAD was established in 1996, as a successor to the International Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD) which was established in 1986. The latter was founded to address reoccurring droughts and other natural disasters that caused hardship in the Eastern region from 1974 to 1984. The Authority’s mandate increased to promote the greater regional political and economic cooperation forming IGAD.
IGAD’s objectives are therefore promoting joint development strategies; harmonising member States’ policies; achieving regional food security; initiating sustainable development of natural resources; promoting peace and stability in the sub-region; and mobilising resources for implementation of programs within the framework of sub-regional cooperation.
IGAD’s 8 member states include Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda. IGAD’s supreme organ is their Assembly of Heads of State and Government, supported by the Council of Ministers, the Committee of Ambassadors and Executive Secretariat.
NORTH AFRICA
ARAB MAGHREB UNION (AMU)
The MAGHREB Union was formed in 1988, the Algerian, Libyan, Mauritanian, Moroccan, and Tunisian Heads of States met in Algiers to deliberate the creation of the Arab Maghreb Union. The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) was founded in 1989 in Marrakech with the approval of the Treaty Instituting the Arab Maghreb Union. At the Treaty approval, the member States agreed to coordinate, harmonize and rationalize their policies and strategies to achieve sustainable development in all sectors of human activities.
The Arab Magrheb Union has a GDP of US$425.7 billion and a population of 92 million. In addition to the Treaty forming AMU, the Marrakesh Summit adopted the Solemn Declaration on the establishment of AMU and its work program. The Arab Maghreb Union objectives were established to:
- Strengthen the ties of brotherhood which link the member States and their peoples to one another;
- Achieving progress and prosperity of their societies and defending their rights;
- Contributing to the preservation of peace based on justice and equity;
- Pursuing a common policy in different domains; and
- Working gradually towards achieving free movement of persons and transfer of services, goods, and capital among them.
COMMUNITY OF SAHEL-SAHARAN STATES (CEN-SAD)
CEN-SAD was established in 1998 through the instigation of Brother Colonel Kaddafi, leader of the Great Al Fateh Revolution. Article 1 of the Treaty establishing the Community provides that the aims and objectives of CEN–SAD are to:
- Establish a comprehensive economic union with a particular focus in the agricultural, industrial, social, cultural and energy fields
- Adopt measures to promote free movement of individuals and capital
- Promote measures to encourage foreign trade, transportation and telecommunications among Member States
- Promote measures to coordinate educational systems
- Promote cooperation in cultural, scientific and technical fields.
CEN-SAD’s member States comprise 29 of the 54 countries of Africa, which include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo and Tunisia.
CEN-SAD is an observer at the UN, and holds many partnership agreements with many regional and international organizations with the aim of promoting common and shared action in political, cultural economic, and social fields. CEN-SAD is governed by its Conference of Heads of State and Government and supported by its Executive Council; Special Ministerial Councils; General Secretariat; Economic, Social and Cultural Council; and Sahel-Saharan Investment Bank.
SOUTHERN AFRICA
SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY (SADC)
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has been in existence since 1980, when it was formed as a loose alliance of nine majority-ruled states in Southern Africa known as the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC), with the main aim of coordinating development projects in order to lessen economic dependence on the then apartheid South Africa. SADC’s legal status is that of an international organisation which has the legal capacity and power to “enter into contract, acquire, own, dispose of movable or immovable property and to sue and be sued” (Art. 3(1) of the SADC Treaty). As an international organisation it has conventional organs such as the Summit of Heads of State or Government, the Organ on Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation, the Council of Ministers, the Integrated Committee of Ministers, the Standing Committee of Officials, the Secretariat, the Tribunal, and SADC National Committees.
The SADC has 16 member states that include Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Madagascar (that was suspended in March 2009 after a coup d’état), Malawi, Mozambique, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The 38th Ordinary SADC Summit in August 2018 noted that the Union of Comoros has deposited its Instrument of Accession, becoming the 16th full Member of SADC.
The main policy making organ is the Summit of Heads of State or Government. The policies are implemented through decisions adopted by the Council of Ministers. Since its inception, SADC has constantly engaged in developing policies and strategies in the different areas of regional cooperation and integration, aimed at achieving the objectives contained in its Common Agenda (Article 5 of the Treaty). These strategies and policies have been consolidated into sectoral strategy papers, Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and Protocols, which are key to the process of Community building.
The SADC Treaty, signed in August 1992 and amended in 2001, 2007, 2008 and 2009, is the constitutive document establishing SADC and the framework from which all subsequent instruments are derived. It sets out the main objectives of SADC – to achieve development and economic growth, alleviate poverty, enhance the standard and quality of life of the peoples of Southern Africa and support the socially disadvantaged through regional integration. All the Protocols, Memoranda of Understanding, Charters and Declarations are subordinate to the Treaty, and derive their legitimacy from the Treaty.
With the independence of Namibia in 1990 and the end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994, SACU members embarked on new negotiations in November 1994, which culminated in a new SACU Agreement in 2002. The SACU Agreement, 2002 addressed the following three outstanding issues:
- Joint decision making processes
- New Revenue Sharing Formula
- Question of external (outside SACU) trade
Common Monetary Area (CMA) to additional Regional Economic Bodies (at the bottom of the page) and add link below
COMMON MARKET FOR EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA (COMESA)
Formed in 1993, COMESA is a regional trade agreement that evolved from the Preferential Trade Agreement of 1978. COMESA exists to promote a free trade region. Article 3 of the Treaty provides that the aims and objectives of COMESA are to: attain sustainable growth and development of Member States; promote joint development in all fields of economic activity; cooperate in the creation of an enabling environment for foreign, cross-border and domestic investment; promote peace, security and stability among the Member States; and cooperate in strengthening relations between the Common Market and the rest of the world.
COMESA’s 19 members States include Burundi, Comoros, DR Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
It is governed by its Heads of State and Government supported by the Council of Ministers; 12 technical committees; a series of subsidiary bodies; Court of Justice and the Secretariat. There are several sub-regional cooperation and development organisations within COMESA.
WEST AFRICA
ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES (ECOWAS)
The evolution of the ECOWAS Commission cannot be separated from the conscious attempt to ensure that the affairs of ECOWAS are administered to the best interest of the citizens of West Africa. The Commission was established in 1975 via the Treaty of Lagos. There are 15 countries that are part of ECOWAS. These counties are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
By subscribing to the vision of the founding fathers of ECOWAS, it can be said that today’s leaders of the community have taken ownership of the grand objectives designed to improve the living conditions of the citizenry, ensure economic growth and create an environment conducive for true development and integration.
ECOWAS established its free trade area in 1990 and adopted a common external tariff in January 2015.The aims of the Community are to promote co-operation and integration, leading to the establishment of an economic union in West Africa in order to raise the living standards of its peoples, and to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations-among Member States and contribute to the progress and development of the African Continent.
In 2000, ECOWAS members formed the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) aiming to establish a strong stable currency, “eco”, to rival the CFA franc, whose exchange rate is tied to that of the euro and is guaranteed by the French Treasury. In 2020 the eventual goal is for the Eco to become West and Central Africa’s a single stable currency. The launch of the new currency is being prepared by the West African Monetary Institute based in Accra, Ghana. This is intended to be the forerunner of a common central bank.
