From George Amihere Naykene, GNA Special Correspondent, Cairo

Cairo, June 9, GNA - An Egyptian academic, Mr. Mohfouz El-Ansari, has appealed to African countries to re-activate their factories and industries and to consume locally produced food to reduce their dependence on imports.

"Developed countries look out for their own interests and do not have the interests of the African continent at heart. Everything possible must be done by Africans to unite as one people and working towards eradicating poverty from the continent," he said. Dr. Mahmoud Abou El-Eirun, Dean of the African Research Institute at Cairo University, said the problems of Africa needed African solutions and not prescriptions by developed countries.

"Let us assemble our own educated people and seek internal solutions to our problems instead of running around looking for foreign solutions which do not work in the African environment" he said. He said the success of the African Union (AU) depended on the citizenry who should demand accountability from their leaders and where possible change them without fear or favour. "We cannot allow a few individuals to manipulate the constitution of their respective countries just to perpetuate their tenure and all such leaders must be rejected by their people and condemned by the various economic blocks and leadership of other African countries." He said the existence of boundaries as well as different languages are major challenges to the AU concept but the leadership of the union are working closely with the eight regional bodies to find solutions to these challenges. 09 June 09