The Director General of the General Services Agency (GSA) of Liberia, Mary T. Broh has extended an apology to the Fula Community in Liberia for comments made against their ethnic group in the form of discrimination.
The GSA Director General could be heard in a live social media video during a power theft campaign asserting that Fulanis hold no allegiance to Liberia, adding that they preferred to carry their monies to Guinea, Mali and Mauritania.
However, the Fula Community has strongly condemned such a statement terming it as discrimination against their tribe.
The Fula Community in a statement read by Madam Fatumata Barrie over the weekend expressed that while they appreciate the effort of Madam Broh in the fight against Power-theft, they should in no way be used as a conduit to launch discriminatory attacks on their tribe.
The position statement from the Fula Community in Liberia emphasized that the statement from Madam Broh is an affront to the Fula Community, demanding her apology toward the community.
The Fula Community through their spokesperson highlighted that they have always been the highest contributor in the small, and medium tax division of Liberia.
Meanwhile, Madam Broh has extended her apology to the Fula Community for her comment which according to her was not intended to cast aspersions on “Our Fula Community” or to question their patriotism.
She added: “We all love Liberia and are striving to develop our country for the common good”. Broh said she was made aware of the public reaction that has ensued in the aftermath of an interaction she earlier had during the week with a member of the Fula community in Monrovia.
The Co-chair of the newly-formed Anti-power Theft Task Force which was established by the Liberia Electricity Corporation – had earlier visited dozens of neighborhoods as her team implemented a mandate of disconnecting illegal connections and also ensuring that offenders are penalized.
She narrated that while undertaking this exercise on Thursday, they came across a third-party connection involving a young lady, and while in the heat of the verbal exchange that followed, “I made comments that in hindsight should not have been said. For this, I offer my unreserved apology”.
Broh maintained emphatically that she has no prejudice against anybody or a group of people, stressing that her ties cut across various sectors of Liberian society.
The GSA boss stressed that against a such a backdrop, anybody attempting to create an impression that she is discriminatory would be misjudging her, (LINA).
