Rustenburg - The African Union (AU) Commission chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, on Monday called for peace and stability on the continent during an Africa Day address.
The former prime minister of Chad said that despite the continent's economic potential and young and dynamic human capital, most countries struggled to ensure the welfare of their citizens.
"Key sectors such as education, health and security are largely dependent on foreign aid. Communitarianism and tribalism have become more marked due to multiparty systems and democratic principles that have oftentimes been perverted," he said.
"Ranging from open crises, caused by terrorism and inter-tribal or inter-religious conflicts to post-electoral crises, Africa is constantly beset, here and there, by scenes of violence, fragility and uncertainty over the future."
Mahamat said he was "deeply touched" by events in Libya, one of the founding members of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which later became the AU.
Libya has been ravaged by tribal conflict since the ousting and killing of its long-time authoritarian leader, Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011.
"The tragedy being played out in this country is of profound concern to us all. No-one is blameless in the failure, neither is any segment of the international community, which has a great responsibility in the persistence or even escalation of the conflict," he said.
There was, however, a unified determination by Africans to overcome the odds, he said.
"The continent’s economic integration, another founding aspiration of our peoples, is now within reach. The emergence of the continent is certainly feasible. However, the ardent wish of the peoples of Africa, particularly the youth, is that leadership and governance invest greater efforts to ensure that Africa gives and avails itself of its best."
Africa Day is observed annually on May 25 to commemorate the founding of the OAU on May 25, 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The day is celebrated by various countries on the continent, as well as around the world.
-African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Desiree Erasmus