A South African team is due to visit the Central African Republic (CAR) within the next few days to give advice on setting up a truth and reconciliation commission, officials said yesterday.

General Francois Bozize, who took power in a coup earlier this year, last month launched national reconciliation talks in the form of a "National Dialogue", aimed at ending eight years of political instability.

The aim was to provide a forum for some 350 individuals from all segments of the population to discuss openly all aspects of the country's life, from truth and reconciliation to politics, diplomacy, defense, the economy, social affairs, education and youth.

One of the recommendations of the dialogue is that a truth and reconciliation commission modelled on the South African example should be created.

Officials working at the office of the National Dialogue said that the new commission should come into being when the present consultations end.

It was originally planned they should finish on Wednesday but they have been extended because of timetabling problems of leaders of nearby African states due to attend the closing ceremony.

The landlocked CAR, with a population of 3,7-million, is one of the world's poorest countries and has been the scene of a series of coups. – Sapa-AFP.