Southern African Customs Union (SACU)

Established by the Customs Union Convention between the British Colony of Cape of Good Hope and the Orange Free State Boer Republic in 1889, the Southern African Customs Union was extended in 1910 to include the then Union of South Africa and British High Commission Territories in Africa and remained unchanged after these countries gained independence. South Africa was the dominant member with sole-decision making power over customs and excise policies until the 2002 SACU Agreement which created a permanent Secretariat, a Council of Ministers headed by a minister from one of the member states on a rotational basis, a Customs Union Commission, Technical Liaison Committees, a SACU tribunal and a SACU tariff board.