As pressures build up from Brussels for countries in Africa (and the Caribbean and Pacific) to enter into inter-regional 'reciprocal' free trade agreements with the EU, through the so-called Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) under the EU-ACP Cotonou Agreement, the threats to the alternative regional integration and development programs and potential in SADC, and all such regional projects in Africa and elsewhere, are becoming more evident, writes Dot Keet from the Alternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC).