Monrovia – A call by the Liberia Council of Church buildings (LCC) to honor Home Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon at its thirty sixth Basic Meeting over the weekend has drawn sharp criticism, together with from one in every of its personal former presidents, Bishop Kortu Brown.
By Obediah Johnson
Bishop Brown stated the transfer was ill-timed and did not mirror the Council’s historic position as a impartial and ethical voice in Liberian society.
The LCC, a outstanding ecumenical Christian physique based in 1982, has come underneath scrutiny lately on account of inside disagreements and allegations of monetary mismanagement. These tensions have been additional infected by current adjustments to the Council’s structure, reportedly aimed toward solidifying the management of the present management underneath Reverend Samuel Reeves.
Critics, together with Bishop Brown, allege that the management has did not account for funds obtained from the federal government and different donors, elevating questions on transparency and accountability.
Regardless of the unresolved disaster inside the group, the LCC proceeded to honor Speaker Koon alongside different outstanding Liberians, together with veteran journalist Kenneth Y. Greatest and economist Dr. Togba Nah Tipoteh.
The ceremony befell in Paynesville, simply exterior Monrovia. Nonetheless, the award to Speaker Koon was obtained on his behalf by Consultant James Kolleh, Chairman of the Home Committee on Guidelines, Order and Administration, because the Speaker didn’t attend the occasion. Additionally invited however absent had been President Joseph Boakai and former Home Speaker J. Fonati Koffa.
Talking to reporters on Sunday, June 2 from his church in Brewerville, Bishop Brown questioned the judgment of the LCC management in selecting to acknowledge Speaker Koon throughout what he described as a interval of nationwide and institutional uncertainty.
He stated the Council ought to have thought-about the political local weather and up to date public dissatisfaction over the management of the Home of Representatives earlier than bestowing such honors.
“Liberia and its residents are relying on and looking out as much as the Liberia Council of Church buildings,” Bishop Brown said. “As such, the Council ought to do as a lot as it may possibly to make sure that it continues to play her nationwide position.” He added that honoring Speaker Koon at this second risked undermining the Council’s credibility. “There are few issues that come to my thoughts concerning the honoring of Speaker Koon and the others. There’s deep love and appreciation of the works of the LCC or the position the Council is predicted to play in Liberia. Individuals need a group in Liberia that they will at all times run to in occasions of disaster. They need to be sure that the group is balanced,” he stated.
Bishop Brown acknowledged that not all honorees had been controversial, pointing to Greatest and Tipoteh as examples of deserving recipients. “Individuals might really feel that the honoring of a number of the honorees had been premature, however there have been additionally good honorees. No one can argue that Kenneth Greatest doesn’t deserve an honor or Togba Nah Tipoteh, amongst others,” he added.
Nonetheless, he maintained that the Council’s choice to incorporate Speaker Koon among the many honorees raised severe considerations, particularly in gentle of the current disaster within the Home of Representatives and public notion surrounding it. “Reactions from Liberians clearly present that it was not well timed for the Council to honor Speaker Koon,” he stated. “Perhaps we should always have waited for some time.”
In keeping with Bishop Brown, the LCC has traditionally been seen as a stabilizing power and a impartial platform for mediation and peacebuilding throughout Liberia’s most turbulent occasions. He warned that honoring a controversial political determine with out broader session or reflection might alienate residents and erode the belief that the Council has painstakingly constructed over the a long time.
“I believe the true message is the extent to which the general public holds the LCC, and all of us from the LCC ought to mirror on that and recommit ourselves to making sure that we don’t let the general public down and that we proceed to play our position as a non secular neighborhood in a method that the nation continues to profit,” he stated.
Whereas emphasizing that he was not towards recognizing the efforts of public officers, Bishop Brown stated it was crucial for the Council to stay conscious of the timing and context of such actions. “You possibly can’t say that the Council mustn’t acknowledge the President of Liberia; however perhaps the best way you do it issues. We will study classes from the place we’re,” he defined.
Amid the continued inside wrangling, Bishop Brown additionally revealed that reconciliation efforts had been underway to handle the disputes presently plaguing the Council. He stated mediation efforts involving former leaders of the LCC, together with himself, had been making gradual progress and that events concerned within the disaster had to this point proven indicators of cooperation.
“We’d like the Council of Church buildings; it’s a international platform and Liberia ought to profit from it. We should always do all we will to maintain and shield it for the great of the nation. The church buildings ought to at all times communicate out and arise for what is true. And that’s why we are attempting to mediate no matter considerations the LCC. As church folks, that is one thing that we should always achieve this simply. The general public mustn’t lose religion within the LCC,” he urged.
He expressed confidence within the means of the Council to resolve its inside disaster, noting that the LCC, although a non secular physique, was not proof against challenges. “The LCC is a non secular group, however each group can have challenges. I belief the capability of the LCC to have the ability to resolve our inside disaster as spiritual leaders,” he added.
Bishop Brown’s feedback mirror rising unease amongst Liberians concerning the route of the Liberia Council of Church buildings at a time when many had hoped the establishment would rise above politics and proceed serving as an ethical compass for the nation.
