Southern African Development Community
4 other official names:
  • Communauté de développement d'Afrique australe (French)
  • Comunidade para o Desenvolvimento da África Austral (Portuguese)
  • Suider-Afrikaanse Ontwikkelingsgemeenskap (Afrikaans)
  • Jumuiya ya Maendeleo ya Nchi za Kusini mwa Afrika (Swahili)
Logo of 4 other official names: Communauté de développement d'Afrique australe (French) Comunidade para o Desenvolvimento da África Austral (Portuguese) Suider-Afrikaanse Ontwikkelingsgemeenskap (Afrikaans) Jumuiya ya Maendeleo ya Nchi za Kusini mwa Afrika (Swahili)
Logo
Motto: "Towards a Common Future"
Anthem: "SADC Anthem"
Map of Africa indicating SADC (light green) and SADC+SACU (dark green) members.
Map of Africa indicating SADC (light green) and SADC+SACU (dark green) members.
HeadquartersGaborone
Largest cityKinshasa
Working languages
TypeIntergovernmental
Membership
16 states
Leaders
• Summit Chairperson
Angola João Lourenço
• Council Chairperson
Angola Tete António
• SADC PF Chairperson
Seychelles Roger Mancienne
• SADC Tribunal
President
Disbanded
• Executive Secretary
Botswana Elias Mpedi Magosi
LegislatureSADC Parliamentary Forum
Establishment
• as SADCC
1 April 1980
• as SADC
17 August 1992
Area
• Total
9,672,702[1] km2 (3,734,651 sq mi)
Population
• 2020 estimate
Increase 363,222,621[2]
GDP (nominal)2020 estimate
• Total
Decrease $597.8 billion[3]
• Per capita
$1,649
Time zoneUTC+1 to +4
Website
www.sadc.int

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.

Goals

The SADC's goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security cooperation among 16 countries in southern Africa.[4] Although its primary objectives are development, economic growth, and poverty alleviation, peacekeeping has become increasingly important to the SADC.[5]: 70 

Member states

As of 2022, the SADC has a total of 16 member states:[6]

Member states surface area and populations[7]
Country Area (km2) Population (2020)[8] GDP (USD) Notes on Membership
Total (billions)[9] Per Capita[9]
 Angola 1,246,700 32,866,268 $124.86 $3,792.75
 Botswana 582,000 2,351,625 $18.42 $7,519.2
 Comoros[10][11] 2,235 869,595 $1.31 $1,371.02 The Union of Comoros was admitted into SADC at the 37th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Pretoria, South Africa in 2017, bringing the total number of Member States to 16.[12]
 DR Congo 2,344,858 89,561,404 $64.79 $669.36 Since 8 September 1997
 Eswatini 17,363 1,160,164 $4.65 $4,035.54
 Lesotho 30,355 2,142,252 $2.56 $1,212.57
 Madagascar 587,295 27,691,019 $14.61 $504.31 Admitted on 18 August 2005. Membership reinstated on 30 January 2014[13] after an imposed suspension in 2009
 Malawi 118,484 19,129,955 $12.04 $545.06
 Mauritius 1,969 1,265,740 $11.26 $8,892.11 Since 28 August 1995
 Mozambique 801,590 31,255,435 $18.09 $546.71
 Namibia 824,268 2,540,916 $13.01 $5,016.17 Since 21 March 1990 (since independence)
 Seychelles 456 98,462 $1.75 $17,693.00 Also previously a member of SADC from 8 September 1997 until 1 July 2004 then joined again in 2008.
 South Africa 1,221,037 59,308,690 $426.17 $6,979.44 Since 30 August 1994
 Tanzania 947,303 59,734,213 $77.51 $1,260.06
 Zambia 752,612 18,383,956 $26.66 $1,330.37
 Zimbabwe 390,757 14,862,927 $36.38 $2,300.56

Burundi has requested to join.[14]

The origin and history of the SADC

The origins of SADC are in the 1960s and 1970s, when the leaders of majority-ruled countries and national liberation movements coordinated their political, diplomatic and military struggles to bring an end to colonial and white-minority rule in southern Africa. The immediate forerunner of the political and security cooperation leg of today's SADC was the informal Frontline States (FLS) grouping. It was formed in 1980.

Flag of the SADCC

The Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) was the forerunner of the socio-economic cooperation leg of today's SADC. The adoption by nine majority-ruled southern African countries of the Lusaka declaration on 1 April 1980 paved the way for the formal establishment of SADCC in April 1980.

Membership of the FLS and SADCC sometimes differed.

SADCC was transformed into SADC on 17 August 1992, with the adoption by the founding members of SADCC and newly independent Namibia of the Windhoek declaration and treaty establishing SADC. The 1992 SADC provided for both socio-economic cooperation and political and security cooperation. In reality, the FLS was dissolved only in 1994, after South Africa's first democratic elections. Subsequent efforts to place political and security cooperation on a firm institutional footing under SADC's umbrella failed.

On 14 August 2001, the 1992 SADC treaty was amended. The amendment heralded the overhaul of the structures, policies and procedures of SADC, a process which is ongoing. One of the changes is that political and security cooperation is institutionalised in the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security (OPDS); one of the principal SADC bodies. It is subject to the oversight of the organisation's supreme body, the Summit, which comprises the heads of state or government.

The organisation holds its own multi-sport event in the form of the SADC Games, which was first held in 2004 in Maputo. Originally planned for an earlier date in Malawi and Lesotho, organisational issues led to abandonment of the plan and the SADC issuing a fine of $100,000 against Malawi.[15] The first event in 2004 in Maputo resulted in over 1000 youths under-20 from 10 countries taking part in a sports programme including athletics, football, netball, boxing and basketball.[16]

In 2012, the SADC deployed peacekeepers to the Democratic Republic of Congo in order to counter a rebel threat.[5]: 70  The deployed troops were supplied by Tanzania, Malawai, and South Africa.[5]: 70 

In August 2019 SADC adopted Swahili as its fourth working language, alongside English, French and Portuguese.[17] Kiswahili – a lingua franca in the African Great Lakes region, other parts of East Africa, and to a lesser degree, parts of Southern Africa – is an official language of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and of the African Union.[18]

Protocols

SADC has 27 legally binding protocols dealing with issues such as Defence, Development, Illicit Drug Trade, Free Trade and Movement of People.[19]

  • Protocol on Energy (1996) – Intended to promote harmonious development of national energy policies. These development strategies set out tangible objectives for SADC and its Member States for infrastructure development in energy and its subsectors of woodfuel, petroleum and natural gas, electricity, coal, renewable energy, and energy efficiency and conservation.[20]
  • Protocol on Gender and Development – Member states are urged to accelerate implementation efforts towards the achievements of concrete and transformative changes in the lives of women and girls in the region. H.E. President Mutharika also expressed concern on the escalating incidents of gender based violence in the region, especially those perpetrated against women and girls, and used this occasion to sign a commitment to end child marriages, as part of the AU campaign to end Child Marriages in Africa.[21]
  • Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation (2001) – Intended to foster regional security and defence cooperation, promote peace, political stability and conflict-management. The protocol initiated also an institutional reform of the SADC's Organ for Politics, Defence and Security (OPDS).[22]

SADC FTA

The SADC Free Trade Area was established in August 2008, after the implementation of the SADC Protocol on Trade in 2000 laid the foundation for its formation.[23][24] Its original members were Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe,[25] with Malawi and Seychelles joining later. Of the 15 SADC member states, only Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo are not yet participating, however Angolan trade minister Joffre Van-Dúnen Júnior said in Luanda that his ministry is working to create conditions for Angola's accession to the SADC Free Trade Area in 2019.[26][27] The SADC-Customs Union, scheduled to be established by 2010 according to SADC's Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), is unlikely to become reality in the near future. This is because the European Union's Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) with their inherent extra-regional freetrade regimes provided for several SADC members more benefits than deeper regional market integration within the framework of a SADC-Customs Union. Since these SADC countries formed four different groupings to negotiate and implement different Economic Partnership Agreements with European Union, the chance to establish a SADC-wide common external tariff as prerequisite for a regional customs union is missed.[28]

On Wednesday 22 October 2008, SADC joined with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the East African Community to form the African Free Trade Zone, including all members of each of the organizations. The leaders of the three trading blocs agreed to create a single free trade zone, the African Free Trade Zone, consisting of 26 countries with a GDP of an estimated $624bn (£382.9bn). It is hoped the African Free Trade Zone agreement would ease access to markets within the zone and end problems arising from the fact that several of the member countries belong to multiple groups.[29]

The African Free Trade Zone effective has been more than a hundred years in the making—a trade zone spanning the whole African continent from Cape to Cairo and envisioned by Cecil Rhodes and other British imperialists in the 1890s. The only difference is that the African Free Trade Zone is the creation of independent African Countries. The idea is a free trade zone spanning the whole continent from the Cape to Cairo (Cape Town in the Republic of South Africa to Cairo in Egypt).

In addition to eliminating duplicative membership and the problem member states also participating in other regional economic cooperation schemes and regional political and security cooperation schemes that may compete with or undermine each other, the African Free Trade Zone further aims to strengthen the bloc's bargaining power when negotiating international deals.

Pursuant to the SADC goal of more integration, Botswana and Namibia signed an agreement in February 2023 allowing citizens to travel between the two countries using only identity cards, with passports no longer being needed.[30] Botswana has held talks with Zimbabwe to achieve a similar deal, and expects to open talks with Zambia.[31]

Challenges facing member countries

SADC countries face many social, development, economic, trade, education, health, diplomatic, defence, security and political challenges. Some of these challenges cannot be tackled effectively by individual members. Cattle diseases and organised-crime gangs know no boundaries. War in one country can suck in its neighbours and damage their economies. The sustainable development that trade could bring is threatened by the existence of different product standards and tariff regimes, weak customs infrastructure and bad roads. The socio-economic and political and security cooperation aims of SADC are equally wide-ranging, and intended to address the various common challenges.[32]

One significant challenge is that member states also participate in other regional economic cooperation schemes and regional political and security cooperation schemes that may compete with or undermine SADC's aims. For example, South Africa and Botswana both belong to the Southern Africa Customs Union, Zambia is a part of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and Tanzania is a member of the East African Community.

According to Human Rights Watch, "SADC has been criticized for its laxity on making human rights compliance within its member states a priority".[33]

Structure and decision-making procedures

The organization has six principal bodies:

Except for the Tribunal (based in Windhoek, Namibia), SNCs and Secretariat, decision-making is by consensus.

Leaders


Chairmen

CountryChairpersonTerm
 ZambiaLevy Mwanawasa2007–2008
 South AfricaKgalema Motlanthe2008–2009
 Democratic Republic of the CongoJoseph Kabila2009–2010
 NamibiaHifikepunye Pohamba2010–2011
 AngolaJosé Eduardo dos Santos2011–2012
 MozambiqueArmando Guebuza2012–2013
 MalawiJoyce Banda
Peter Mutharika		2013–31 May 2014
31 May–17 August 2014
 ZimbabweRobert Mugabe2014–17 August 2015
 BotswanaIan Khama17 August 2015 – 2016
 EswatiniKing Mswati III2016–2017
 South AfricaJacob Zuma
Cyril Ramaphosa		2017–2018
 NamibiaHage Geingob17 August 2018 – 17 August 2019
 TanzaniaJohn Magufuli[34]17 August 2019 – 17 August 2020
 MozambiqueFilipe Nyusi17 August 2020 – 17 August 2021
 MalawiLazarus Chakwera17 August 2021–17 August 2022
 Democratic Republic of the CongoFélix Tshisekedi17 August 2022–17 August 2023
 AngolaJoão Lourenço[35]17 August 2023–present

Executive Secretaries

CountryNameTerm
 NamibiaKaire Mbuende1994–2000
 MauritiusPrega Ramsamy2000–2001 (Acting)
2001–2005
 MozambiqueTomaz Salomão2005–2013
 TanzaniaStergomena Tax2013–2021
 BotswanaElias Mpedi Magosi2021–present

Comparison with other regional blocs

African Economic Community
Pillar regional
blocs (REC)		 Area
(km²)		 Population GDP (PPP) ($US) Member
states
(millions) (per capita)
EAC 4,810,363 312,362,653 833,622 3,286 7
ECOWAS/CEDEAO 5,112,903 349,154,000 1,322,452 3,788 15
IGAD 5,233,604 294,197,387 225,049 1,197 7
AMU/UMA a 6,046,441 106,919,526 1,299,173 12,628 5
ECCAS/CEEAC 6,667,421 218,261,591 175,928 1,451 11
SADC 9,882,959 394,845,175 737,392 3,152 15
COMESA 12,873,957 406,102,471 735,599 1,811 20
CEN-SAD a 14,680,111 29
Total AEC 29,910,442 853,520,010 2,053,706 2,406 54
Other regional
blocs		 Area
(km²)		 Population GDP (PPP) ($US) Member
states
(millions) (per capita)
WAMZ 1 1,602,991 264,456,910 1,551,516 5,867 6
SACU 1 2,693,418 51,055,878 541,433 10,605 5
CEMAC 2 3,020,142 34,970,529 85,136 2,435 6
UEMOA 1 3,505,375 80,865,222 101,640 1,257 8
UMA 2 a 5,782,140 84,185,073 491,276 5,836 5
GAFTA 3 a 5,876,960 1,662,596 6,355 3,822 5
During 2004. Sources: The World Factbook 2005, IMF WEO Database.
  Smallest value among the blocs compared.
  Largest value among the blocs compared.
1: Economic bloc inside a pillar REC.
2: Proposed for pillar REC, but objecting participation.
3: Non-African members of GAFTA are excluded from figures.
a: The area 446,550 km2 used for Morocco excludes all disputed territories, while 710,850 km2 would include the Moroccan-claimed and partially-controlled parts of Western Sahara (claimed as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic by the Polisario Front). Morocco also claims Ceuta and Melilla, making up about 22.8 km2 (8.8 sq mi) more claimed territory.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Land area (sq. km) - South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Eswatini, Angola, Comoros, Congo, Dem. Rep., Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe". World Bank. 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  2. ↑ "Population, total - South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Eswatini, Angola, Comoros, Congo, Dem. Rep., Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe". World Bank. 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  3. ↑ "GDP (current US$) - South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Eswatini, Angola, Comoros, Congo, Dem. Rep., Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe". World Bank. 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  4. ↑ Schenoni, Luis L. (3 April 2018). "The Southern African unipolarity". Journal of Contemporary African Studies. 36 (2): 207–228. doi:10.1080/02589001.2017.1364355. S2CID 158137607 – via Taylor and Francis+NEJM.
  5. 1 2 3 Shinn, David H.; Eisenman, Joshua (2023). China's Relations with Africa: a New Era of Strategic Engagement. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-21001-0.
  6. ↑ "Member States". Southern African Development Community. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  7. ↑ "Population by sex, annual rate of population increase, surface area and density" (PDF). United Nations Statistics Division: 1–2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  8. ↑ "Population, total - Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Congo, Dem. Rep., Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe | Data". data.worldbank.org. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  9. 1 2 "IMF World Economic Outlook Database". International Monetary Fund. 1 April 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  10. ↑ "Communiqué of the 37th Summit SADC of Heads of State and Government or Tambo Building, Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) Pretoria, South Africa" (PDF). Southern African Development Community. 20 August 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  11. ↑ "The Union of Comoros becomes the 16th SADC Member State". Southern African Development Community. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  12. ↑ Tore, Ozgur. "Comoros joins Southern African Development Community – SADC". ftnnews.com. FTN News. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  13. ↑ "SADC Lifts Madagascar Suspension". SADC. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  14. ↑ Nakale, Albertina (22 August 2017). "Southern Africa: Comoros Admitted into SADC". Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  15. ↑ Organisation of SADC Games to cost a million dollars. Panapress (11 May 2003). Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  16. ↑ Valy, Bayano (June 2004). The first Under-20 Zone Six SADC Games. SADC Today, Vol.7 No.2 June 2004. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  17. ↑ "SADC adopts Kiswahili as 4th working language – The Mast Online". Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  18. ↑ Mazrui, Ali Al'Amin. (1995). Swahili state and society : the political economy of an African language. East African Educational Publishers. ISBN 0-85255-729-9. OCLC 441402890.
  19. ↑ Southern African Development Community :: SADC Protocols. Sadc.int. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  20. ↑ "South African Development Community". sadc.int. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  21. ↑ "Southern African Development Community". sadc.int. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  22. ↑ Johannes, Muntschick (9 October 2017). The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the European Union (EU) : Regionalism and External Influence. Cham, Switzerland. pp. 187–228. ISBN 9783319453309. OCLC 1005921955.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  23. ↑ "Free Trade Area". Southern African Development Community. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  24. ↑ "Southern African Development Community Protocol on Trade" (PDF). Southern African Development Community. 1996. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  25. ↑ Mbola, Bathandwa (18 August 2008). "SADC launches free trade area". Southafrica.info – Brand South Africa portal website. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  26. ↑ "Angola joins SADC free trade zone from August 2019". macuhub. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  27. ↑ "Free Trade Area". Southern African Development Community. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  28. ↑ Johannes, Muntschick (9 October 2017). The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the European Union (EU) : Regionalism and External Influence. Cham, Switzerland. pp. 153–186. ISBN 9783319453309. OCLC 1005921955.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  29. ↑ "African free trade zone is agreed". 22 October 2008.
  30. ↑ Silence Mugadzaweta (20 February 2023). "Botswana, Namibia to abolish passports: Citizens of the two countries will now use identity cards". NewsDay Zimbabwe. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  31. ↑ Mqondisi Dube (13 March 2023). "Botswana, Zimbabwe to Discuss Eliminating Use of Passports". VOA. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  32. ↑ "Deep integration". inwent.org. Archived from the original on 1 March 2010.
  33. ↑ "SADC: Address Members' Rights Issues". 14 August 2014.
  34. ↑ "Tanzanian president assumes SADC chair, calls for vigorous industrialization drive". Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  35. ↑ "COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE 43rd ORDINARY SUMMIT". SADC. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.

Further reading

  • Gabriël Oosthuizen, The Southern African Development Community: The organisation, its history, policies and prospects. Institute for Global Dialogue: Midrand, South Africa, 2006.
  • John McCormick, The European Union: Politics and Policies. Westview Press: Boulder, Colorado, 2004.
  • Muntschick, Johannes, The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the European Union (EU). Regionalism and External Influence. Palgrave Macmillan: Cham. 2017. ISBN 978-3-319-45330-9.
  • Ramsamy, Prega 2003 Global partnership for Africa. Presentation at the human rights conference on global partnerships for Africa's development, Gaborone: SADC
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