Regional & global cooperation: SACU, SADC & the EU
No country can do everything alone, so countries join hands with their neighbours and with the wider world. In this lesson we learn why countries cooperate — for a bigger market, a stronger bargaining voice, peace, and shared infrastructure — then meet two groupings in our own Southern African region: SACU, the world's oldest customs union, whose shared revenue pool helps pay Namibia's national budget; and SADC, our sixteen-member community for peace, trade and development. Finally we travel to Europe to meet the European Union, a model of deep integration that trades with and aids Africa through EPAs, and is a key market for Namibian beef, fish and grapes. Throughout, we ask one question: what does Namibia GAIN?
By the end you should be able to (NSSCO Development Studies 9.3):
- Discuss regional cooperation in the Southern African region through SACU (the Southern African Customs Union): its members, its common external tariff and shared customs revenue pool, and its successes and challenges
- Discuss regional cooperation in the Southern African region through SADC (the Southern African Development Community): its member states, its aims of integration, peace, trade, free movement and development, and its successes and challenges
- Discuss the role of the European Union (EU) in terms of cooperation and trading with other nations and trading partners, including its single market and common currency, and its trade and aid to Africa through Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)