Mary Broh’s Apology: A Sign of Strength, Not Weakness

The Director General of the General Service Agency or GSA, Ms. Mary T. Broh may have realized that her recent out-burst against the Liberia Council of Churches or LCC was one of her greatest mistakes in public service. During a recent panel discussion at the Monrovia City Hall, under the auspices of Liberians for the Protection of Peace and Democracy or LPPD, the Director General Broh accused the Liberia Council of Churches of failure in the process of peace-building. The GSA Director General had wondered about the current role of the LCC, especially in the recent festivities targeted at preserving Liberia’s peace, under the auspices of the group, Liberia for the Protection of Peace and Development.

“Let me say something as a senior citizen of this country; I am a very controversial person; When things were going wrong in this country and the Council of Churches came up to speak, things became calm; but here today, we are discussing peace and they are next door to us; no one is here representing them,” claimed Mary T. Broh after been accorded the opportunity to speak at a recent peace forum at the Monrovia City Hall. She alleged that while Liberians in and out of Liberia were celebrating a decade of unbroken peace, representations of the Council at a series of conferences held around the country could not be felt- a claim that immediately attracted strong reactions from the Christian Community in Liberia.

Even though the Acting President of the Council of Churches, the Rev. Kortu Brown described Broh as a ‘blind person’ because she pretended not to be knowledgeable about the past and present peace initiatives of the LCC, including similar peace program taking p[ace at the same time the Peace Forum was being held, the LCC, in its official reaction recently, called on Madam Broh and others who have been making public statements against the LCC to do more by researching facts on the pivotal roles the Council played in the country.

“The LCC will not allow itself to be distracted from its noble role of advocacy, peaceful negotiations, and to the promotion of peace and tranquility in our nation. Let it be made clear that the Council does not pre-occupy itself to carry-on its activities in the media but rather in a way appropriate to its military role,” a recent LCC   statement emphasized.

Even though Director General Mary T. Broh may have had her own justification for such claims, her realization that she erred against the Church must be welcomed by all. We must all remember that to say I’m sorry is a sign of strength and not weakness; Taryennor has only demonstrated to all of us that she’s not too big to say that she made a mistake, and that she was sorry- this is an example that other public officials must emulate even amid pressure or public outcry. And we do highly commend form Mayor Broh for realizing that she was actually in the wrong- this is what we had anticipated in our October 11, 2014 Editorial titled: Earnestly, Mary Broh Was In the Wrong.

Broh’s apology has not only shown a since of remorse despite what or who may have lured her to doing so, but equally restore the administration many Liberians have for her because of her past achievements wherever she’s assigned-whether at the Passport Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Port Authority, as well as Monrovia City Corporation and Vital Statistics Division at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. With such a move by the GSA Director General, it is hoped that the Liberia Council of Churches will sincerely consider Broh’s latest action as a positive sign of  true reconciliation, and let “bygone be bygone” for a new beginning.