VICTORIA FALLS, Zimbabwe - African chiefs attending a five-day Natural Resources Management Program conference in Victoria Falls Tuesday called for a return to the continent's old time democracy as a solution its present political instability.
The chiefs, in a paper they presented to the conference, said while they were now more receptive to the contemporary methods of governance, they felt there were lessons to be learnt from African tradition and culture.
Power struggles in Africa have been blamed on fragile democracies and the result has been retarded development, refugee problems and massive displacements of people.
Prince Mwananyanda Lewanika of Malawi said traditional leaders realised the need for adapting to some modern living methods.
We have moved into an era where we would want the private sector to be in partnership with traditional leaders because we have the capacity to protect investments, Lewanika said.
Outlining how African culture dealt with the issue of leadership succession, Lewanika said society was extensively involved in the process.
He said the chiefs wanted to be more involved in the formulation of developmental projects and their implementation.
During the colonial era, the traditional leaders were stripped of their powers and present day governments have done very little to restore them. As as result, they said, conflicts had arisen between the political and traditional administrative structures.
Chiefs, like government, are interested in ensuring that people have food, shelter and that children are sent to school, Lewanika said.
The conference opened Monday. It is being attended by over 200 delegates from a cross-section of society.