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The frequent changes in governments and policies, coupled with the lack of long-term programmes by African governments, have been blamed for the poor development and low foreign direct investments in the continent.

The insufficiency in related laws and policies and the inadequate enforcement by the governments are also common problems for African countries.

The Director General of the Department of African Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Mr Lin Songtian, made this observation when he addressed the opening ceremony of the 5th China Africa Think Tanks Forum which is underway in Yiwu, China. 

"There is frequent change of ruling parties in some African countries leading to the problem of instability and inconsistency of government policies. Some of the policies of the government keep changing, sometimes being done arbitrarily," he said.

Aside from these, he said there was also the issue of high security risks which were characterised by unrests "which occur from time to time in some parts of Africa”. Hot spots issues kept cropping up, he added.

In addition to the list of issues affecting the development of the continent, there were also non-traditional security factors such as terrorist attacks, kidnapping, piracy, public security and diseases.

China Africa Think Tank Forum

Mr Lin, thus, called on African countries to develop their own governance policies that would ensure a consistency in programmes and policies.

While advocating that African countries could learn from the Chinese experience, he said they did not have to necessarily copy China but choose their own path of development while drawing on the experience of other countries.

He cited the examples of Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo where China had partnered these countries in their infrastructural development.

The China Africa Think Tank Forum (CATTF) was established in 2011 to foster a closer collaboration between China and Africa and to promote deeper cooperation between the two for the mutual benefits of both sides.

At the last Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Johannesburg, South Africa last year, China pledged $60 billion support to Africa which would cover a whole range of issues including financial services, trade and investment facilitation, poverty alleviation, people to people and cultural exchange, and peace and security issues.