Towards Macro-Economic Convergence in SACU: The Position of Botswana

In light of recent developments such as the African Continental African Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA), incrementalist approaches to regional inte gration that focus on sub-regions seems to have been pushed to the backburner as more focus puts the entire African continent at the centre of integration processes. With all its potential, gradual macro-economic convergence has accordingly been neglected. Discussions on macro-economic convergence have on the other hand been cast over the broader sub-region such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) where a number of indicators and targets have been identified and pursued closely. Whilst looking at Botswana as a point of departure, this paper argues that incremental macro-economic convergence is pivotal to broader regional integration and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) provides an ideal stepping-stone. An incrementalist approach to macro-economic convergence as well as broader regional integration should begin with identifying key formal institutions that serve as  custodians of macro-economic policy such as the central banks and departments of finance or treasuries. Using secondary data sources, with Botswana as a case study, this paper foregrounds macro-economic convergence, macro-economic policy making institutions, and SACU as critical building blocks for broader regional integration.