Regional Economic Blocs: EAC, ECOWAS and COMESA
African History · Regional Co-operation
Syllabus tag: KCSE | History and Government | Form 4 | Topic 33 Regional Blocs
Lesson objectives
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
- Describe the formation, aims and organs of the East African Community.
- Explain why the first EAC collapsed in 1977 and how it was revived.
- Describe ECOWAS and COMESA, their aims and achievements.
- Explain the problems facing regional economic blocs and their solutions.
Summary
Regional economic blocs group neighbouring states to remove trade barriers and co-operate economically. The EAC was formed in 1967, collapsed in 1977 and was revived in 2000. ECOWAS (1975) serves West Africa and is notable for military intervention; COMESA (1994) is the largest African bloc by membership.