South Africa's role in the Southern African Customs Union: 1994 - 1996

Abstract

This paper focuses on whether apartheid South Africa's approach to the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) has been hegemonic and whether a democratic South Africa will ensure leadership of SACU member countries to enhance mutual economic development or maintain a hegemonic approach. Institutional r6constitution and democratisation are terms which have recently regained popularity in SACU. Bot.awana, Lesotho, Narni.b.i.a and Swaziland (BLNS) are attempting to develop a programme which would accelerate the process of participatory fairness. South Africa on the other hand is initiating consultative forums between SACU member countries to incorporate popular aspirations and address tensions emanating from a concentration of industry in South Africa. This paper begins by providing a history characterised by hegemonic relationships of the pre-1994 period between South Africa and the BLNS countries, which is followed by a theoretical approach to options for solutions for the regional integration complexities of Southern Africa, referring '!lore specifically to SACU. South Africa's initiative to facilitate participation of member countries, which culminated in the introduction of the Customs Union Task Team (CUTT), received attention. The general discussion of interviews test the theoretical perspective of participative engagement of SACU membership, and provide suggestions towards the future of the customs union. A conclusive analysis and recommendations for further research are presented.