About Us

Southern African Customs Union (SACU)

The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) consists of Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. The SACU Secretariat is located in Windhoek, Namibia. SACU was established in 1910, making it the world’s oldest Customs Union.

As the world`s oldest custom union, the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) dates back to the 1889 Customs Union Convention between the British Colony of Cape of Good Hope and the Orange Free State Boer Republic. A new Agreement, signed on June 29, 1910, was extended to the Union of South Africa and the British High Commission Territories (HCTs), i.e. Basutoland (Lesotho), Bechuanaland (Botswana), and Swaziland, South West Africa (Namibia) "was a defacto member, since it was administered as part of South Africa" before it became a dejure member. The primary goal was to promote economic development through regional coordination of trade..

Our Vision

An economic community with equitable and sustainable development, dedicated to the welfare of its people for a common future.

Our Mission

To serve as an engine for regional integration and development, industrial and economic diversification, the expansion of intra regional trade and investment, and global competitiveness.
To build economic policy coherence, harmonization and convergence to meet the development needs of the region.
To promote sustainable economic growth and development for employment creation and poverty reduction.
To serve as a building block of an ever closer community among the peoples of Southern Africa.
To develop common policies and strategies for areas such as trade facilitation; effective customs controls; and competition.
To develop effective, transparent and democratic institutions and processes.