African universities are key to remaking the continent, says former president Thabo Mbeki.

"... Africa will overcome the challenges of poverty, underdevelopment and global marginalisation not because of its wealth in natural resources, but because of its intellectual ability properly to manage and utilise these resources for the benefit of the peoples of our continent," Mbeki said yesterday.

He was speaking at the All Africa Students' Union conference at the University of Cape Town.

"In this sense the resources embedded in earth Africa may turn into a curse if Africa does not develop the intellectual capital to empower the African masses and the governments they elect to exploit these resources for the greater good of the citizen.

"The regenerated African university must be the principal driver of that intellectual awakening, which awakening will empower the peoples of Africa to remake our societies and our continent." He told the students that they were tasked with leading the drive towards the new African university.

Mbeki bemoaned the "parlous state" of the African university plagued by inadequate infrastructure, understaffing, inadequate libraries and outdated books, underpaid lecturers, staff attrition through the brain drain and a lack of even the basic services such as water, sanitation and electricity.

Many sub-Saharan countries did not have significant student loan programmes.

Of even greater concern, Mbeki said, was the difficulty African universities faced in recruiting and retaining properly qualified teaching staff.