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Regional Economic Communities
(RECs)
CEN-SAD | COMESA | ECCAS | ECOWAS | IGAD | SADC | UMA
 Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD)
The Community of Sahel-Saharan States CEN-SAD is a
framework for Integration and Complementarity. It
intends to work, together with the other regional
economic communities and the Organization of African
Unity, to strengthen peace, security and stability and
achieve global economic and social development.
CEN-SAD was established on 4th February 1998
following the Conference of Leaders and Heads of States
held in Tripoli (Great Jahamiriya). The Treaty on the
establishment of the Community was signed by the Leader
of Great El-Fateh Revolution and the Heads of State of
Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad and Sudan. The Central
African Republic and Eritrea joined the Community during
the first Summit of the organization held in Syrte in
April 1999. Senegal, Djibouti and Gambia joined during
the N’djamena Summit in February 2000. Others countries
joined later, and still more are in the process of
joining the Organization.
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 Economic Community
of Central African States (ECCAS)
At a summit meeting in December 1981, the leaders of
the Central African Customs and Economic Union (UDEAC)
agreed in principle to form a wider economic community
of Central African states. CEEAC/ECCAS was established
on 18 October 1983 by the UDEAC members and the members
of the Economic Community of the Great Lakes States
(CEPGL) (Burundi, Rwanda and the then Zaire) as well as
Sao Tome and Principe.Angola remained an observer until
1999, when it became a full member. ECCAS began
functioning in 1985, but has been inactive since 1992
because of financial difficulties (non-payment of
membership fees) and the conflict in the Great Lakes
area.The war in the DRC has been particularly divisive,
as Rwanda and Angola fought on opposing sides.
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 Common Market
for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa was
founded in 1993 as a successor to the Preferential Trade
Area for Eastern and Southern Africa (PTA),which was
established in 1981. COMESA formally succeeded the PTA
on 8 December 1994. The establishment of COMESA was a
fulfilment of the requirements of the PTA Treaty, which
provided for the transformation of the PTA into a common
market ten years after the entry into force of the PTA
Treaty.
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website
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 Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS)
The idea for a West African community goes back to
President William Tubman of Liberia, who made the call
in 1964. An agreement was signed between Côte
d'Ivoire,Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in February
1965, but this came to nothing. In April 1972, General
Gowon of Nigeria and General Eyadema of Togo re-launched
the idea, drew up proposals and toured 12 countries,
soliciting their plan from July to August 1973. A
meeting was then called at Lomé from 10-15 December
1973, which studied a draft treaty. This was further
examined at a meeting of experts and jurists in Accra in
January 1974 and by a ministerial meeting in Monrovia in
January 1975. Finally, 15 West African countries signed
the treaty for an Economic Community of West African
States (Treaty of Lagos) on 28 May 1975. The protocols
launching ECOWAS were signed in Lomé, Togo on 5 November
1976. In July 1993, a revised ECOWAS Treaty designed to
accelerate economic integration and to increase
political co-operation, was signed.
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website
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 Intergovernmental Authority for Development
(IGAD)
The Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and
Development (IGADD) was formed in1986 with a very narrow
mandate around the issues of drought and
desertification. Since then, and especially in the
1990s, IGADD became the accepted vehicle for regional
security and political dialogue The founding members of
IGADD decided in the mid-1990s to revitalise the
organisation into a fully-fledged regional political,
economic, development, trade and security entity similar
to SADC and ECOWAS. It was envisaged that the new IGADD
would form the northern sector of COMESA with SADC
representing the southern sector.
One of the principal motivations for the
revitalisation of IGADD was the existence of many
organisational and structural problems that made the
implementation of its goals and principles ineffective.
The IGADD Heads of State and Government met on 18 April
1995 at an Extraordinary Summit in Addis Ababa and
resolved to revitalise the Authority and expand its
areas of regional co-operation. On 21 March 1996, the
Heads of State and Government at the Second
Extraordinary Summit in Nairobi approved and adopted an
Agreement Establishing the Intergovernmental Authority
on Development (IGAD.
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 Southern African
Development Community (SADC)
The concept of a regional economic co-operation in
Southern Africa was first discussed at a meeting of the
Frontline States foreign ministers in May 1979 in
Gaberone. The meeting led to an international conference
in Arusha, Tanzania two months later which brought
together all independent countries, with the exception
of the then Rhodesia, South West Africa and South
Africa, and international donor agencies. The Arusha
conference in turn led to the Lusaka Summit held in the
Zambian capital in April 1980. After adopting the
declaration, which was to become known as ‘Southern
Africa: Towards Economic Liberation’, Sir Seretse Khama
was elected the first chairman of the SADCC.
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website
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 Union du Maghreb
Arabe (UMA)
The first Conference of Maghreb Economic Ministers in
Tunis in 1964 established the Conseil Permanent
Cunsultatif du Maghreb (CPCM) between Algeria, Libya,
Morocco, and Tunisia, to coordinate and harmonize the
development plans of the four countries as well as
interaregional trade and relations with the EU. However,
for a number of reasons, the plans never came to
fruition. It was not until the late 1980s that new
impetus began to bring the parties together again. The
first Maghreb Summit of the five Heads of State, held at
Zeralda (Algeria) in June 1988, resulted in a decision
to set up the Maghreb High Commission and various
specialized commissions. Finally, on February 17, 1989
in Marrakech, the Treaty establishing the AMU was signed
by the Heads of State of the five countries.
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