Unpacking Regional Economic Integration Challenges Bedevilling the Sadc Regional Grouping: A Synopsis

Abstract

While different regional economic communities (RECs) have sought to grapple with economic and political challenges within their areas of jurisdiction, those of the SAD have been conspicuous in that they are many and varied. These challenges have negatively impacted on the region’s propensity to provide economic benefits to the people of the region, unlike other groupings with have identified ways of dealing with their challenges. Among the most prevalent challenge to SADC’s economic development has been the low gross domestic product (GDP) that has characterized the region’s economic standing. Most importantly, the different challenges in the SAD have equally impacted on the region’s economic integration, although the conditions created by the region’s members’ small economies would have been ideal for regional economic integration and development.