Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
Marche commun de l'Afrique orientale et australe
Founded December 1994, headquarters in Lusaka, Zambia.
Members: Angola, Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Web site: http://www.comesa.int
Southern African Development Community (SADC)
Communaute de developpement de l'Afrique australe
SADC was created in 1992 from the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC), founded in 1980. South Africa joined 1994. Headquarters in Gaborone, Botswana
Members: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Web site: http://mbendi.co.za/orsadc.htm
The Commission for East African Cooperation (EAC)
Formed in March 1996 as a revival of the defunct East African Community.
Members: Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
CFA Franc Zone
The CFA franc zone comprises 12 West and Central African countries that formerly were French overseas territories, one former Portuguese territory, and one former Spanish possession, all of which share the CFA franc as their common currency. Established in 1948, the CFA franc is linked to the French Treasury, an arrangement that has offered monetary stability and a convertible currency linked to the French franc. CFA stands for Communaute financiere africaine -- African Financial Community.
The CFA zone countries are divided into two groups, each with its own central bank:
West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU)
Union economique et monetaire ouest-africaine (UEMOA)
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo.
Central African Economic and Monetary Community
Communaute economique et monetaire de l'Afrique centrale (Cemac)
Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Chad.
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
Communaute economique des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (CEDEAO)
Founded in 1975, headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria
Members states: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Web site: http://www.cedeao.org/
Organization of African Unity (OAU)/African Economic Community
Organisation de l'unite africaine(OUA)/Communaute economique africaine
The members of the OAU, nearly all African countries, signed a treaty that entered into force in May 1994 that will operate through regional economic communities to create a continent-wide African Economic Community in six stages over a 34-year period. The OAU's Economic Co-operation and Development Department (EDECO) is charged with implementing the treaty.
EDECO Web site:
http://www.oau-oua.org/direc_info/dir_edeco/index.htm
Economic Perspectives
USIA Electronic Journal, Vol. 4, No. 3 August 1999