Confirmed or Not Confirmed, Mary Broh Needs Sensitivity Traininge       1             1940 - 11112008f- Two- Soccer Legends

  Wednesday, March 11, 2009             

Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh

     My first and only encounter with Mary Broh, who was recently appointed Mayor of the City of Monrovia was in Columbia, Maryland, during that now famous All Liberian National Conference in 2005, when Liberians met there that weekend to rally for decentralization of services and policies, and elections of officials in the political subdivisions in their country.

     That brief encounter with Mary Broh did not bring us any closer after the convention because I don’t really know the lady; and our chance encounter did not produce any combustible results either, except that I was able to meet Mary Broh, whom I would not have seen or met had I not taken my boring self out of Georgia to mingle with like-minded Liberians who share similar passion about the decentralization of government and electing regional leaders in the 15 political subdivisions of Liberia.

     I am not sure what her role was at the convention, but I saw Ms. Broh sitting at one of the tables recording the names of conference attendees, and I want to believe she played her role well like most Liberians who were at the convention did with much pride and sense of patriotism.

                                                   Mary Broh           

     With an obvious Sierra Leonean accent, the Mary Broh I met at the convention projected an image of toughness – the same toughness she’s being ridiculed publicly for in Liberia and abroad, coupled with an undiplomatic personality, and a no-nonsense way of doing things, which is a turnoff for some and endears her to many who see the toughness in Mary as the right prescription needed to awaken a complacent citizenry still asleep in these times of nation-building, however, needs a ruthless mother figure whose tough love is needed to direct every aspect of their “pitiful” lives, even if it means demeaning and violating the rights of those she went to Liberia to help, after Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected President of Liberia.

     It does not hurt at all if a little dose of push is all that is needed to awaken those who continue to sleep amid the drastic changes that surround them. After all, a little push is what some of us need to wake up to do for self or for others who cannot do for themselves, in a society where there are no government-sanctioned social services programs to help the young, old, disabled and poor, but where the family unit is as strong as a rock always filling in and helping other family members who cannot stand on their feet to live just another day.

     Yes, some Liberians need some kind of push to make it to just another day in these uncertain times; while others, who are pushing themselves to a glimmer of hope and a bit of entrepreneurial spirit toiling in Liberia’s humid temperatures and torrential rainfall to sell whatever at hand, needs encouragement – the kind of push that will inspire and motivate them to take one step one day at a time, which Mary Broh did not provide by her brute action.

     Mary Broh did not encourage Liberians to pick themselves up by the bootstraps to be self-sufficient through hard work, but massacred their dreams by pushing them violently into depression when she ordered authorities to abruptly razed their makeshift market stalls, 72 hours after she was reportedly appointed city Mayor of Monrovia by President Sirleaf.

     Whether it is at the capitol building where she was in charge of “beautification” and was accused of not paying or underpaying workers, or at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where she reportedly insulted and intimidated Liberians who went there to apply for passports, or when she recently destroyed those market stalls, time after time Ms. Broh has offended Liberians since she returned home.

     The brashness – the callousness has won her over and impressed her supporters, who have lobbied endlessly for her to be confirmed as Mayor, often citing her ability to get things done, a quasi qualification to be Mayor.

     I got news for those reactionary agents – those who, for their own selfish reasons would overlook the violations of their people’s civil rights to support wrong with the hopes of getting some kind of payback from Mary Broh after she is confirmed, should understand also that die-hard supporters of Samuel Kanyon Doe, Charles Taylor, Idi Amin and other despots always believed their heroes also got things done when they insulted, intimidated, harassed and ruled their people like slaves, isn’t it?

     However, without even waiting her turn to go through the confirmation protocol, Ms. Broh, whom I strongly believe is unqualified for the job and shouldn’t be confirmed, does not have the temperament and judgment, is over zealous, unprofessional and insensitive, which shows why some Liberians are fed up with her and the way things are today in Liberia, and are yearning for the return to the presidency of the criminal, Charles Taylor, and the dictator, Samuel Kanyon Doe, which is not funny at all.

     I certainly will not blame those Liberians who are wishing for the return of their former tormentors, which is impossible because Samuel Kanyon Doe is no longer with us, and Charles Taylor is where he needs to be  – in prison; and if he is ever released like it was hinted just recently because of the apparent lack of funds in the international criminal court system, then Mr. Taylor should be arrested immediately after he is released and be buried alive.

     That’s another debate or insults I likely will get from supporters of the disgraced leaders whose failed policies contributed to some of the nation’s crisis, years after they left the political landscape.

     Let me get back to Mary Broh so as not to stray away from my train of thought, because she violated the basic tenet of fairness and decency when she did not first meet with the marketers to advise them of her post-confirmation plans, at which time she would have informed and demanded that they move to another location at an appropriate time and date chosen by the appointed mayor and the marketers, preferably at a state-owned market built by the government, which would have been a reasonable deal. Now, she is apologizing for her abuse of power after the damage has already been done, which is too little, too late.

     Before President Sirleaf suspended Police Director Beatrice Munah Sieh years ago for constantly shooting from her lips before thinking of the consequences, especially after she reportedly offended members of the Islamic faith by her inflammatory comments, a public relations disaster that damaged her image and portrayed Ms. Sieh as ignorant and insensitive, I wrote in a 2006 column on this page suggesting that Ms. Sieh undergo sensitivity training to help her understand public relations and how to relate to the public.  

     It is unknown whether the administration read my July 29, 2006, The Liberian Dialogue column, “In Defense of Beatrice Munah Sieh” when the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf administration took such a positive step right after the piece was published. One thing I know is that Beatrice Munah Sieh did returned to her job after her brief hiatus with renewed awareness of her responsibilities as a public servant and a sense of maturity, which has since made her a better communicator.

     Like Police Director Beatrice Munah Sieh before her, who had to undergo sensitivity training to become a better person in terms of public relations and how to deal with her fellow Liberians, Mary Broh also needs sensitivity training to know how to talk to people, how to behave in Liberia, and to also know how to treat her people, the Liberian people with dignity and respect.