South Africa is cognisant of the need to work towards processes in the continent to facilitate continental integration. The African Union programme is to rationalise and harmonise the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), to contribute towards the realisation of the aspirations of the Abuja Treaty on the African Economic Community (AEC). It was seen as critical to streamline the disparate integration processes of SADC, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the East Africa Community (EAC), the so-called 'spaghetti bowl'.