Review Regional integration and amalgamation: The SADC/SACU dichotomy Jephias Mapuva Department of Geography (Development Studies), Bindura University of Science Education, P.O. Box 1020, Bindura, Zimbabwe. Email: mapuva@gmail.com Accepted 8 October, 2014 Abstract The SADC Treaty sought to, among other things; enhance regional integration within the SADC region. The eventual thrust has been on coming up with a common market, common monetary union and a common currency that would facilitate trade within the region. Equally important has been the desire to form a bulwark against stronger economies from other regional groupings. On the other hand, while SACU has harboured the desire to facilitate the establishment and operationalisation of a customs union within the Southern African region. It has been argued that such a development cannot avoid the need for a common currency, common market as well as a monetary union to counter the strong trade current coming from other regional groupings, such as the East African Community, taking cognisance of the meteoric economic rise of Kenya as well as the post-genocide economic reform of Rwanda.This paper examines the history of regional integration in Africa, what has motivated it, the different initiatives by way of RECs and well as the nature of the integration process, and the current challenges such as duplication of functions and overlap within SADC and SACU. The paper also put forward the need to collapse SADC and SACU by harmonising their operations and the attendant regulatory framework governing the two RECs. Key words: Regional integration, amalgamation, SADC, SACU INTRODUCTION Regional integration is seen as a rational response to the difficulties faced by a continent with many small national markets and landlocked countries. As a result, African governments have concluded a very large number of regional integration arrangements, several of which have significant membership overlap. While characterized by ambitious targets, they have a dismally poor implementation record. Part of the problem may lie in the paradigm of linear market integration, marked by stepwise integration of goods, labour and capital markets, and eventually monetary and fiscal integration. This tends to focus on border measures such as the import tariff. However, supply-side constraints may be more important. A deeper integration agenda that includes services, investment, competition policy and other behind-the-border issues can address the national-level supply-side constraints far more effectively than an agenda which focuses almost exclusively on border measures. The geo-political environment in which the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) operate has raised debates about the need to collapse the two institutions, especially given the amount of duplicity and overlap of membership. Such a merger would see the creation of a more encompassing and comprehensive regional grouping that would double both as a regional customs union as well as a socio-political regional bloc. Such a merger would be able to focus on socio-economic and political dynamics of the Southern African region. However this discussion cannot be pursued without establishing the objectives and set up of each of the two Global Journal of Art and Social Science Education Vol. 2 (2), pp. 056-060, October, 2014. © Global Science Research Journals http://www.globalscienceresearchjournals.org/