African leaders review African problems

The African leaders acknowledged at the annual World Economic Forum on Africa opened here Wednesday that mismanagement, lack of democracy and reliance on handouts are partly to blame for the continent's woes.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said Africa should stop using its colonial past as an excuse and accept that "mediocrity" of leadership kept it underdeveloped while Asian countries forged ahead.

More than 800 business and political leaders from 50 countries are attending the conference, which runs through Friday under the theme of "Capitalizing on Opportunity."

In a report before the meeting, the World Economic Forum said it should be possible for Africa, which is benefiting from high raw material prices, to sustain its 5 percent growth despite risks from food and political insecurity.

Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika said Africa was the world's richest continent in terms of natural resources and needed to change its mind-set to achieve its full potential.

"We have huge agricultural land and huge water resources and virtually every crop can grow on this continent and we are unable to feed ourselves," he said. "Can't we turn things around? Yes, we can," he said.

Malawi, he said, had the potential to become a major rice producer soon.

Mutharika said in the 25 years after independence from Britain, Malawi, an impoverished southern African nation, saw itself as dependent on food handouts, and its president performed an annual begging ritual. But he said when he was elected in 2004 he told the country's farmers they were capable of growing the food themselves and, since then, Malawi has had surpluses.

"If Malawi can do it, surely the rest of Africa can," he said.

Mutharika said another challenge facing the continent was that "Africans have not learned to share power," and cling instead to the principle of "winner takes all."

South African President Thabo Mbeki said that generally the continent was moving in the right direction. But he warned that a "belt of instability" across the Sahel stretching from Mauritania in the West to Sudan in the east had negative repercussions for the rest of the continent.

Ghana's President John Kufuor said the biggest mistake was not allowing free rein to the private sector. "If we have the leadership, Africa will catch up, because we have the resources," he said.