The suspension was a result of a letter by Grand Kru County Representative Wisseh Blamo, addressed to the House plenary requesting Acting Monrovia City Mayor Mary Broh to appear before that august body. She was summoned to give reasons for what the Lower House called “high fees” imposed for parking in the city with no security.
Backed by her supporters dressed in T-shirts with banners, some calling on the Lower House to abandon their quest for lower the fees on parking, Madam Broh stood in the Chambers of the House of Representatives to defend her position.
She appeared before plenary with her supporters in and outside of the Capitol Building in an apparent bid to influence lawmakers’ decision on the matter.
In her deliberations, the Monrovia City Acting Mayor intoned that the 50 Liberian Dollars per hour as being charged was the most appropriate fee judging from the living standard of ordinary Liberians, contrary to the lawmakers’ claimed that the fee was too high.
She maintained that the city was built for business purposes, and as such, the only alternative was to park outside the city if one does not have the money for parking.
Madam Broh also told the legislature that 75 percent of revenues generated goes to two private companies, 10 percent to Ministry of Public Works and 15 percent to the Monrovia City Corporation for training City Police.
Quizzed on how mush city parking attendants receive as monthly salary, Madam Broh declined to give an answer but referred the legislators to the two city parking companies. This position created argument amongst lawmakers, leading them to take a 15-minute break to deliberate behind closed doors.
During that period, Madam Broh came outside to meet her supporters she had probably arranged to protest in her favor.
In her brief meeting with the protesters, she called on them to rise up against the lawmakers for any decision that will be taken against her.
“When you are out of jobs, turn on them. This is a male dominated society and I am one of the boys. You are the ones who are largely affected by their decisions so stand up for your rights,” Acting Mayor Broh told her supporters.
Minutes after her meeting with her supporters, the House recalled her and took a decision to suspend parking activities in the city for two weeks while a special committee was set up investigate the matter.
Out of the 39 members in session, 36 voted for the decision, one against with two abstentions.
House Speaker Alex Tyler appointed Sekou Sarafoday Kanneh as chairman of the five-person committee.
The committee is charged with investigating several issues, including parking fees, salaries for parking attendants, revenue generated by the private companies and revenue to government, among others.
Madam Broh quietly and angrily walked out of the chambers to her car and refused to speak with the media.
