Southern African Development Community

Southern African Development Community (SADC) An economic community in Southern Africa which emerged from the Southern African Development Coordination Conference. This had been formed by the ‘Front-Line States’ in an attempt to coordinate economic policies and reduce their economic dependence on South Africa. On 17 August 1992, the SADC was founded with a less confrontational aim, given the democratization of South Africa and the immediate abolition of apartheid there. It aimed at greater political and military cooperation, and the ultimate equalization of the respective economies. This latter aim was somewhat challenged by the entry of South Africa in 1994, as the coexistence in one economic community of Africa's wealthiest country on the one hand, and Africa's poorest (Mozambique) on the other, made the eventual realization of free trade both more advantageous and more difficult. In 2000, a customs union was inaugurated, which aimed to establish free trade on most goods by 2008, and on all goods by 2012. With this aim in mind, South Africa was committed to reducing its customs barriers earlier than the other member states. In 2002, its membership consisted of fourteen countries, including Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, the Seychelles, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Zambia. War-torn Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo were also nominal members, but were not part of the free-trade agreement.

http://www.sadc.int