Africa was committed to dealing with the "sporadic challenges" to its ideal of continent-wide democracy, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said on Tuesday.

"We should all note that Africa remains alive with possibilities, and will do so for generations to come," he said in a speech prepared for delivery at an Africa Day celebration in Ankara, Turkey.

Motlanthe said that the United Nations (UN) introduced new conflict resolution and peacekeeping strategies early in the 1990s, which impacted directly on Africa.

Guided by the UN approach, Africans had since registered considerable gains in the areas of peace and stability, democracy and good governance.

"It should, however, be mentioned that there are challenges that remain, as demonstrated by the recent re-emergence of the spurts of unconstitutional changes of government and other forms of conflicts in some pockets of the continent," he said.

Although the continent was on the right path towards creating a better Africa, there was an acute need to emphasise conflict prevention mechanisms.

"In this connection, I am confident that with time this objective, too, will be achieved."