Wednesday, April 25 10:34 PM SGT

Clinton plays talk show host, faces tough questions from S.African youth

JOHANNESBURG, April 25 (AFP) -

Former US president Bill Clinton played the talk show host at a conference on civil society in Johannesburg on Wednesday, and faced some tough questions from a panel of young South African leaders.

Clinton was on his second and last day in South Africa as the main drawcard at the Civil Society Initiative (CSI) conference, which is looking at how civil society can help poor people.

He told delegates and the panelists -- consisting of student and high school leaders, AIDS activists and members of the South African Youth Commission -- that together the country's youth could make a difference.

"You can do this. More young people from different backgrounds should be running for public office. Young people in this country can eliminate the AIDS problem in three to five years if you just pulled together," he said.

But the former president did not have it all his own way in talking to the 30 panelists, and faced some tough questions, including those on war in Africa, the plight of disabled children and the "brain drain" of young educated professionals leaving the country.

"How are we going to play a role in other (African) countries, especially those experiencing wars?" asked panelist Lindi Khoza, a student leader at a campus south of Johannesburg.

"I don't have any easy answers," Clinton retorted. "But if you are interested, you can ask somebody like (ex)president (Nelson) Mandela's wife (Graca Machel).

Machel is a leading campaigner and last year called for renewed urgency to protect children in war zones.

"How can we create ideas to help disabled people in South Africa?" asked another panelist, who arrived at the conference on crutches.

Clinton answered by using an example of how the United States struggled for years to finally put legislation in place to allow disabled students to go to normal schools.

Another tough question from a Johannesburg student leader, was how the United States was going to stop the immigration of highly qualified young professional South Africans, commonly known as the "brain drain".

"Me must try to reduce the brain drain. You must find the South African diaspora and make them give something back to South Africa," Clinton answered.

At the end of the session he received a "People's Choice Award" from the conference organisers and was expected to leave South Africa Wednesday afternoon to attend an AIDS conference in Nigeria.

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2001