Editor,

RE: "A new dawn for Africa” (The New Times, April 22).

To the author, Dr Donald Kaberuka, I cannot help but observe that you have either avoided or disregarded the elephant in the room — which almost everyone will agree has a big stake on the future of Africa.

That elephant comes in the form of on-going conflicts.

Much more recently, we have had the Burundi conflict in East Africa, the Libyan conflict, the Central African Republic conflict since 2012, the conflict in DR Congo since 1998, the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency in Uganda since 1987, the Northern Mali conflict since 2012, the Somali civil war since 1991, South Sudan-Sudan border conflict since 2012, the constant Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria and Mali, the renewed conflict in Mozambique... All of these are on-going. My question is: how plausible is it to ascertain the economic climate of Africa 10-20 years from now with all these conflicts and others that might break out in the future?

Second, why does it seem like we are successfully navigating the economic aspect of things but relentlessly trapped in violent conflicts?

J. S.