Regional Economic Communities
Encyclopedia
The Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa group together individual countries in subregions for the purposes of achieving greater economic integration. They are described as the 'building blocks' of the African Union
(AU) and are also central to the strategy for implementing the New Partnership for Africa's Development
(NEPAD).
The 1980 Lagos Plan of Action for the Development of Africa, followed by the 1991 treaty to establish the African Economic Community (also referred to as the Abuja Treaty), proposed the creation of regional economic communities (RECs) as the basis for African integration, with a timetable for regional and then continental integration to follow. The Treaty provides for the African Economic Community to be set up through a gradual process, in 6 stages over 34 years, i.e. by 2028.
Article 88 of the Abuja Treaty states that the foundation of the African Economic Community
is the progressive integration of the activities of the RECs, with the establishment of full continental economic integration as the final objective towards which the activities of existing and future RECs must be geared. A Protocol on Relations between the AEC and the RECs entered into force on 25 February 1998.
In 2000, the OAU/AEC Summit in Lomé adopted the Constitutive Act of the African Union, which formally replaced the OAU in 2002. The final OAU Summit in Lusaka from 9 to 11 July 2001 reaffirmed the status of the RECs within the African Union and the need for their close involvement in the formulation and implementation of all programmes of the Union.
At the same time, it was recognised that the existing structure of the RECs was far from ideal, with many overlaps in membership. At the Maputo Summit in 2003 the AU Commission was requested to accelerate the preparation of a new draft Protocol on Relations between the African Union and the RECs. Rationalisation of the RECs formed the theme of the July 2006 Banjul summit of the AU. At the July 2007 Accra summit the AU Assembly adopted a Protocol on Relations between the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities. This protocol is intended to facilitate the harmonisation of policies and ensure compliance with the Abuja Treaty and Lagos Plan of Action time frames.
Moreover, there are additional regional economic cooperation bodies not officially recognised by the African Union as RECs, including:
Other regional cooperation structures not necessarily focused on economic integration also have some overlapping authority, including:
The internal capability of the RECs varies considerably, with ECOWAS, SADC and EAC the most developed. Moreover, though the RECs are envisaged as the building blocks of the African Union, there is no clear evidence that all existing RECs have the aim of long-term continental integration in view, nor that there is the political will within all the RECs to submit regional concerns to the overriding imperatives of the Union.
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
(AU) and are also central to the strategy for implementing the New Partnership for Africa's Development
New Partnership for Africa's Development
The New Partnership for Africa's Development is an economic development program of the African Union. NEPAD was adopted at the 37th session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in July 2001 in Lusaka, Zambia...
(NEPAD).
List of Regional Economic Communities recognized by the African Union
Currently, there are eight RECs recognised by the AU, each established under a separate regional treaty. They are:- Arab Maghreb UnionArab Maghreb UnionThe Arab Maghreb Union is a trade agreement aiming for economic and some sort of future political unity in North Africa between the countries Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania...
(UMA) - Common Market for Eastern and Southern AfricaCommon Market for Eastern and Southern AfricaThe Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, is a free trade area with nineteen member states stretching from Libya to Zimbabwe. COMESA formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area which had existed since 1981...
(COMESA) - Community of Sahel-Saharan StatesCommunity of Sahel-Saharan StatesCEN-SAD or the Community of Sahel-Saharan States aims to create a free trade area...
(CEN-SAD) - East African CommunityEast African CommunityThe East African Community is an intergovernmental organisation comprising the five east African countries Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Pierre Nkurunziza, the President of the Republic of Burundi, is the current Chairman of the East African Community. The EAC was originally...
(EAC) - Economic Community of Central African StatesEconomic Community of Central African StatesThe Economic Community of Central African States is an Economic Community of the African Union for promotion of regional economic co-operation in Central Africa...
(ECCAS) - Economic Community of West African StatesEconomic Community of West African StatesThe Economic Community of West African States is a regional group of fifteen West African countries. Founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, its mission is to promote economic integration across the region....
(ECOWAS) - Intergovernmental Authority on DevelopmentIntergovernmental Authority on DevelopmentThe Intergovernmental Authority on Development is an eight-country regional development organization in East Africa. Its headquarters are located in Djibouti City....
(IGAD) - Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)
Background
From its establishment in 1963, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) identified the need for the economic integration of the continent as a prerequisite for economic development.The 1980 Lagos Plan of Action for the Development of Africa, followed by the 1991 treaty to establish the African Economic Community (also referred to as the Abuja Treaty), proposed the creation of regional economic communities (RECs) as the basis for African integration, with a timetable for regional and then continental integration to follow. The Treaty provides for the African Economic Community to be set up through a gradual process, in 6 stages over 34 years, i.e. by 2028.
Article 88 of the Abuja Treaty states that the foundation of the African Economic Community
African Economic Community
The African Economic Community is an organization of African Union states establishing grounds for mutual economic development among the majority of African states...
is the progressive integration of the activities of the RECs, with the establishment of full continental economic integration as the final objective towards which the activities of existing and future RECs must be geared. A Protocol on Relations between the AEC and the RECs entered into force on 25 February 1998.
In 2000, the OAU/AEC Summit in Lomé adopted the Constitutive Act of the African Union, which formally replaced the OAU in 2002. The final OAU Summit in Lusaka from 9 to 11 July 2001 reaffirmed the status of the RECs within the African Union and the need for their close involvement in the formulation and implementation of all programmes of the Union.
At the same time, it was recognised that the existing structure of the RECs was far from ideal, with many overlaps in membership. At the Maputo Summit in 2003 the AU Commission was requested to accelerate the preparation of a new draft Protocol on Relations between the African Union and the RECs. Rationalisation of the RECs formed the theme of the July 2006 Banjul summit of the AU. At the July 2007 Accra summit the AU Assembly adopted a Protocol on Relations between the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities. This protocol is intended to facilitate the harmonisation of policies and ensure compliance with the Abuja Treaty and Lagos Plan of Action time frames.
Challenges facing the RECs
Several of the RECs overlap in membership: for example, in East Africa, Kenya and Uganda are members of both the EAC and COMESA, whereas Tanzania, also a member of the EAC, left COMESA and joined SADC in 2001. This multiple and confusing membership creates duplication and sometimes competition in activities, while placing additional burdens on already over-stretched foreign affairs staff to attend all the various summits and other meetings.Moreover, there are additional regional economic cooperation bodies not officially recognised by the African Union as RECs, including:
- Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC)
- West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA/WAEMU)
- Economic Community of the Great Lakes CountriesEconomic Community of the Great Lakes CountriesThe Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries is a sub-regional organization with multiple vocation created by the signing of the Agreement of Gisenyi in Rwanda on September 20, 1976, aiming at insuring the safety of member states, at favoring the creation and the development of activities of...
(CEPGL) - Indian Ocean CommissionIndian Ocean CommissionThe Indian Ocean Commission , known as the Commission de l'Océan Indien in French, is an intergovernmental organization that joins Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, France , and the Seychelles together to encourage cooperation. It was started in January 1984 under the General Victoria Agreement...
(IOC) - Mano River UnionMano River UnionThe Mano River Union is an international association established in 1973 between Liberia and Sierra Leone. In 1980, Guinea joined the union. The goal of the Union was to foster economic cooperation among the countries...
(MRU) - Southern African Customs UnionSouthern African Customs UnionThe Southern African Customs Union is a customs union among five countries of Southern Africa: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.-History:SACU is the oldest still existing customs union in the world...
(SACU)
Other regional cooperation structures not necessarily focused on economic integration also have some overlapping authority, including:
- peace and security agreements, such as the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (CIRGL/ICGLR); and
- river basin management agreements, such as the Senegal River Basin Development AuthorityOrganisation pour la mise en valeur du fleuve SénégalThe Organisation pour la mise en valeur du fleuve Sénégal is an organisation of Guinea, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal to manage the Senegal River and its drainage basin....
(OMVS).
The internal capability of the RECs varies considerably, with ECOWAS, SADC and EAC the most developed. Moreover, though the RECs are envisaged as the building blocks of the African Union, there is no clear evidence that all existing RECs have the aim of long-term continental integration in view, nor that there is the political will within all the RECs to submit regional concerns to the overriding imperatives of the Union.
Recognised by the AU
- Arab Maghreb Union (UMA)
- Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
- Community of Sahel- Saharan States (CEN-SAD)
- East African Community (EAC)
- Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS)
- Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
- Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
- Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)