PRESIDENT John Agyekum Kufuor has said any attempt at resolving the economic problems of Africa should be holistic in nature.

He said the key factor should be a commitment to build democratic institutions that would fashion out a workable constitution for the continent.

President Kufuor was contributing to deliberations at a meeting with five other African leaders at Chequers, the private resident of British Prime Minister Tony Blair at Alyesbury, 60 kilometres outside London.

Present at the meeting, held in a serene atmosphere, were Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, Joachim Chissano of Mozambique, Festus Mogae of Botswana, Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Benjamin Mpaka of Tanzania.

President Kufuor said the private sector, civil society, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the mass media have important roles to play in the provision of the basic infrastructure for development in Africa.

He said these include education, health, provision of potable water, telecommunication and electricity.

Prime Minister Blair pledged to play an advocacy role in the search for a new approach to developmental issues on the African continent.

He said Africa has made considerable progress in the discussion of their problems and how to solve them.

Prime Minister Blair said, “If African countries could consider structuring a framework to finance their key priorities, Britain and its allies would fund the mechanisms and structures to reduce conflicts on the continent.”

He commended Ghana in her efforts to advance democracy and pledged his government's desire to offer assistance to entrench democracy in Ghana.

President Obasanjo stressed the need for Africa to strengthen democracy and good governance on the continent.

He said efforts should be made to find solutions to poverty-related problems as a pre-requisite for good governance, which would form the basis for peace on the continent.

President Wade said the symptoms of current events are a reflection of the divergent views existing between developed and developing countries and this dichotomy has created a situation for violence.

President Wade attributed major causes of conflicts in Africa to unfair elections and called for a well-resourced regional military force capable of responding to conflict situations.

He said the personnel of the force, who should be well-trained, well-resourced, should embrace most African countries and donor agencies.

President Wade said mechanisms for early warnings should be established in order to create a fairly transparent political environment in Africa.

President Chissano said leadership is a key factor in determining how a country should be governed, adding “good governance would be a panacea for conflict resolution”.

He appealed to African leaders to talk to opposition groups in their countries to move democracy forward in order to eliminate the tendency of opponents always obstructing efforts of ruling governments.