SACU, Regional Integration and the Overlap Issue in Southern Africa: From Spaghetti to Cannelloni?

The report examines the 'spaghetti bowl' of overlapping regional economic communities (RECs) in southern and eastern Africa, focusing on the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the East African Community (EAC). It highlights the institutional tensions caused by multiple memberships and the pressure from EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations. The authors argue that SACU should be positioned as a core 'fast-tracking' anchor for regional integration, but emphasize that it must first 'get the basics right' by improving trade facilitation, statistics, and its internal institutional framework before expanding.

• Africa's regional integration is hindered by a 'spaghetti bowl' of 14 regional integration groups, where most countries hold multiple overlapping memberships, increasing the costs of intra-regional business.
• The East African Community (EAC) is pursuing the most ambitious and rapid integration agenda, aiming for a common market by 2010 and a common monetary union by 2012, including a goal for political federation.
• SADC's integration goals include establishing a Free Trade Area by 2008, a customs union by 2010, and a common market by 2015, though these targets are threatened by political instability in Zimbabwe.
• COMESA aims for a customs union by 2008, but implementation is hampered by revenue loss fears, a desire to protect infant industries, and poor transport and communications infrastructure.
• SACU is the world's oldest functional customs union and possesses a unique revenue-sharing mechanism where South Africa subsidises other members, but it lacks a specific timeframe for its 2002 agreement targets.
• EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations are exerting pressure on African RECs to consolidate into single economic spaces, as the EU prefers negotiating with unified customs unions.
• South Africa's economic dominance is a double-edged sword; while it provides a diversified market and funding, it creates regional suspicion and dependencies that make other states reluctant to join SACU.
• The authors identify Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi as 'swing countries' whose decisions on REC membership will significantly impact SACU's future trajectory.
• SACU must prioritize 'getting the basics right'—including improving trade statistics, harmonizing trade facilitation, and establishing its 2002 agreement institutions—before attempting deeper policy harmonization.
• The current SACU revenue-sharing formula may be unsustainable as it incentivizes BLNS countries to resist tariff reductions, suggesting a need for a development fund based on non-volatile sources.

APA

Draper, P., Halleson, D., & Alves, P. (2007). SACU, Regional Integration and the Overlap Issue in Southern Africa: From Spaghetti to Cannelloni? South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/SAIIA-2007-Trade-Report-No-15.pdf

Chicago

Draper, Peter, Durrel Halleson, and Philip Alves. SACU, Regional Integration and the Overlap Issue in Southern Africa: From Spaghetti to Cannelloni? South African Institute of International Affairs, 2007. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/SAIIA-2007-Trade-Report-No-15.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Draper |first1=Peter |last2=Halleson |first2=Durrel |last3=Alves |first3=Philip |title=SACU, Regional Integration and the Overlap Issue in Southern Africa: From Spaghetti to Cannelloni? |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=January 2007 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/SAIIA-2007-Trade-Report-No-15.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{draper2007sacu, author = {Draper, Peter and Halleson, Durrel and Alves, Philip}, title = {{SACU, Regional Integration and the Overlap Issue in Southern Africa: From Spaghetti to Cannelloni?}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2007}, month = jan, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/SAIIA-2007-Trade-Report-No-15.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }