A Second Chance for Mary Broh for Progress

News of the reappointment of former Monrovia City Mayor Mary T. Broh to the Monrovia City Corporation by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf may have been a shock to many Liberians as they went to bed Tuesday night. Even though there’ve been numerous campaigns to ensure the return of Madam Broh as Mayor of Monrovia, following her resignation a few months ago due to a feud between her and the Liberian Senate, little did Liberians know that her return was very eminent.

Journalists were even taken by surprise on Tuesday at the Capitol, when they bumped into a deliberation by the Plenary of the Liberian Senate on a communication received from the President of Liberia, reappointing several mayors of cities across the country, prominent among whom was the “ever-powerful” Mary T. Broh.

“I write to the Honourable House of the Liberian Senate to confirm the nomination for city mayors of cities in the 15 counties of Liberia”, read the President’s communication in Plenary. Even though the position of Mayor in Liberia is an elected position, but the President resolved to make such appointment due to what the administration referred to as budgetary constraints.

Mayor Broh’s quiet appointment by Madam President may be attributed to the many concerns raised for the period of her departure as head of the Monrovia City Corporation, about Monrovia and its environs being engulfed with heap of garbage. The campaign to bring back Broh to Monrovia also grew out of the horrible smell in the capital and its environs which has become an embarrassment to many residents and officials, including some members of the 52nd Legislature, who recently alarmed on the need to summon current acting Monrovia City Mayor, Cllr. Henry Reed Cooper, to provide explanations on the situation, which portrays a negative image about the entire country.

Some Legislators had even noted that the present deplorable hygienic condition of Monrovia truly proves that Mary Broh actually had passion for the job, emphasizing the urgent need for her return, though she sometimes comes in conflict with some residents while executing her duties. It was, perhaps, in view of the foregoing that the President resolved to re-nominate the former Monrovia City Mayor in the interest of public safety.

Whatever mix reactions that may have characterized the President’s decision to reappoint the Mayor or the Senate’s decision to go ahead with her (Mayor Broh) confirmation process, our overall denominator is the preservation of a good hygienic condition of the City of Monrovia and its environs. Toward these efforts, the President may not have had any choice, but to return Mary to Monrovia.

In the best interest of Monrovia and its environs, critics of the decision, especially most members of the House of Representatives, must disregard the un-necessary radicalism and sentiments in the supreme interest of a prosperous sanitary environment and healthy capital. It is no doubt that Mary Broh has been and will continue to be very instrumental in ensuring not only the cleanliness of Monrovia and elsewhere, but discipline among Liberians in terms of waste management- this is something she and it is something she can continue to do in keeping our city alive and kicking. A second chance for Mary T. Broh could be far better than previous achievements as Mayor of the City of Monrovia.