African Regional Parliaments: Legislatures without Legislative Powers

Abstract

African regional parliaments are an outgrowth of the major regional economic integration communities such as: the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) (Table 8. 1). These regional communities are considered the building blocks of the African Union (AU) and were set up with the explicit intention that they would contribute to sub-regional cooperation and eventually to the greater goal of African unity and integration. In other words, the architects of these multiple and at times overlapping economic communities expected them to converge into one African economic community under the banner of the AU. 1