Africa's prospects in 2000 discussed by a panel

Africa should embrace economic development in 2000 to avoid how the continent was marginalized in the last century, experts said at a debate aired by the Paris-based Africa Number One Radio.

The experts dwelt issues related to the progress of the multi-party system, the persistent lack of democracy, ethnicity, the regional integration in the continent and globalization. Those were the major trends that evolved on the continent at the end of the Cold War, they said.

The end of the 80s as marked by the fall of the Berlin Wall, precipitated the beginning of the end for authoritarian regimes alongside single party systems, they said.

Despite the positive developments on the African political scene, most countries continued to operate as de facto single party systems with all its trappings of dictatorial tendencies, hence the continuing high voltage of political temperatures in most African countries, the experts added.

Western policy was blamed as contributing to increased tensions on the continent. What is important, they said, is that the African man-on-the-street has increasingly become more enlightened, clearly and fully aware of the evolving situation and trends.

The panelists, however, conceded that the multi-party system did not often guarantee democracy. Instead, they urged Africa to continue to work hard on its economic front as the only solution to its problems.

The panelists said integrating African economies, meanwhile, through existing regional blocs should continue in order to boost the continent's economic strength.

Only then will the continent get closer to achieving its development targets set earlier before the new millennium 2000 arrived.