ABSTRACT
The Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern Africa (PTA) was established in 1981 (after nine member states ratified the treaty), and started operating in July 1982. 1 Today, the PTA has about 15 members, including Burundi, Comoros, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Somalia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe. 2 Tanzania is the newest member, having ratified the PTA treaty on 11 April 1985. About four potential members have yet to ratify it, namely Angola, Botswana, Mozambique and Seychelles. The PTA encompasses an area of 5,013,087 sq. km. with a population of more than 114 million. 3
