Regional Citizenship as a Mode of Integration and Development within SADC: Lessons from the European Union

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Citizenship is at the centre of access to healthcare, housing, employment and other social welfare benefits. Traditionally, these are rights reserved for citizens only.

The debate around citizenship has been around for centuries resulting in divided views on who qualifies for citizenship and the corresponding rights to be extended in such instances.

A distinction can be made between regional citizenship which is observed by the European Union (EU) and citizenship which is tied to one’s nationality. When citizenship is tied to one’s nationality then their rights and privileges are linked specifically to membership in a particular nation-state rather than a broader regional entity.

Although regional citizenship is not observed in Southern Africa, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) aims to “achieve economic development, peace and security, and growth, alleviate poverty, enhance the standard and quality of life of the peoples of Southern Africa, and support the socially disadvantaged through Regional Integration.”

To achieve these goals, it is imperative to facilitate the free movement of people around the region. This can be achieved by adopting a regional citizenship model like that of the EU. With such a model in place, citizens will have more access to resources, jobs, and social services. Furthermore, citizens of SADC member states would potentially have the opportunity to participate in local elections within the region, provided they meet the residence requirements.

The EU Citizenship Model

EU citizenship was introduced with the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 and is supplementary to national citizenship, not a replacement for it. Any person who holds the nationality of an EU member state is automatically considered a citizen of the European Union. This means that EU citizenship does not stand alone but is complementary to one’s nationality.

EU citizenship grants certain rights and privileges to all citizens of EU member states. These include the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the EU, the right to consular protection by any other EU country when in a non-EU country where their own country is not represented, and the right to vote and stand in European Parliament.

As early as the 1970s, some countries from the EU started enfranchising non-citizens to allow them to vote, although this was at a local level and in most countries, it remains restricted to municipal elections. In rare cases, non-citizens were allowed to cast their votes in national elections after meeting certain requirements. This has been a working model for the EU which allows for development and the integration of citizens.

“The key to effective responses and to realizing a progressive regional human mobility instrument lies primarily in changing policymakers’ attitudes and allying their fears of migration.”

SADC

The implementation of a similar regional citizenship framework within SADC has the potential to foster collective growth and the achievement of economic goals across the region.

To achieve regional citizenship, there is a need for robust discussions around the matter and a shift in ideological perspectives towards development. Lack of enthusiasm on the part of members to comprehensively regulate and ratify laws has led to SADC member states having bilateral agreements between each other to facilitate the movement of their citizens.

For instance in 2023, Botswana and Namibia signed an agreement which allowed citizens to travel without passports. Although the agreement has been hailed as a step in the right direction, it also shows how the SADC region has failed to have one uniformed approach to deal with the movement of citizens. The lack of harmonization in naturalization laws also poses challenges to seamless movement.

Segatti clearly states that there has been reluctance to facilitate the free movement of SADC citizens within the region because of rich member states that do not share the same ideals as struggling member states. For instance, the SADC Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of People proposed by Dr Charles Hove and Dr Kaire Mbuende, drawing from the work of the EU and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), did not gather much support initially.

The prospect of complete abolition of border controls on people’s movements within SADC did not sit well with South Africa, Botswana and Namibia in particular who declined to support this Protocol.  This is unsurprising as South Africa, for example, is currently grappling with a significant influx of citizens from both the SADC region and other parts of Africa.

A redrafted version of the Protocol in the form of the Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of People (Facilitation Protocol) was agreed on in 2005 as it was well received by member states. This underscores the need for a harmonized approach to regional citizenship, which would facilitate unity and cooperation among member states. In addition, it would streamline the movement of people within the region, creating a more uniform and efficient process.

Without reforms around the SADC region, it is difficult to implement some of the measures that will allow for the free movement of people. The key to effective responses and to realizing a progressive regional human mobility instrument lies primarily in changing policymakers’ attitudes and allying their fears of migration.

Member states must prioritize the signing and ratification of the SADC Facilitation Protocol because only seven member states have signed and ratified the Protocol. Having a closely knit framework that takes a holistic approach to dealing with regional matters will play a huge part in the development and integration of the region.

This framework has the potential to strengthen relations among member states and benefit the SADC citizenry by granting them the freedom of movement within the region, accompanied by other fundamental human rights. However, regional development requires ideological foresight and accommodative laws.