New Liberian government to face 'tremendous challenges,' priest says

Published: 2005-10-06

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) -- The government formed after Liberia's Oct. 11 elections will face "tremendous challenges," but people on the streets "sound positive and energetic" about the promise of peace, said a U.S. priest. "The new government will have trouble prioritizing what to do first" in the West African country that has almost no running water or electricity, Franciscan Father Mike Perry, advocacy officer for the Africa desk at Franciscans International in New York, said in a telephone interview from Monrovia, the Liberian capital. Liberia's infrastructure was severely damaged during almost continuous internal conflict between 1990 and 2003. "The roads are dilapidated, and those who do have electricity have their own generators," he said. Monrovia, with a population of 1.6 million, has only one hospital, which "operates at low capacity," he said. "All the people we speak to tell us that they don't want any more violence," Father Perry said. Father Perry visited Liberia Oct. 2-7 as part of an interfaith delegation.

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