UNIFICATION CITY, Margibi – A group of Unification City residents has expressed its disapproval with Mayor Roseline Davis over her recent mandates.

The citizens converged at the home of the representative of Margibi’s 2nd district, Ballah Zayzay, to ask him to intervene.

In their complaints, the residents said their mayor was making unilateral decisions that were not in their interest. They accused her of illegally breaking down structures, charging high fees for services provided by the city, and banning all business activities in the town on Sundays.

Aloysius Narmue, a resident, told The Bush Chicken that the mayor must seek the inputs of citizens in her undertakings if she wants to succeed. He called upon Davis to be more cautious in how she enforced the city’s ordinances.

J. Stanley Nyumah, Prominent resident of Unification City and former Senatorial Candidate for Margibi. Photo: Gbatemah Senah

Meanwhile, Stanley Nyumah, a former Senatorial Candidate for Margibi and prominent resident of the city, accused the mayor of not adhering to the law.

“We are thinking that the draconian rules that she wants to bring out may impede the developmental agenda of this district and that the people will become disgruntled…” he said.

He condemned the demolition of some structures, including a community toilet, and called the decision unlawful.

“In fact, only the court can give her that power to demolish and the law should be your guidance,” Nyumah said.

He also questioned the mayor’s decision to abort all business activities on Sundays. He said the mandate was divisive and illegal.

“Constitutionally, there is no law that says Sunday is a religious holiday. If you do that, you’re going to disenfranchise the [Seventh-day] Adventists. You’re going to impose a draconian rule on the Muslims,” Nyumah said.

He added, “Even the proposition to turn Liberia into a Christian state was thrown out by the president, so to force people to close their shops and other business centers was very, very draconian.”

However, Nyumah praised the mayor for her commitment to having a clean city but stated that the lack of a proper garbage disposal site must also be addressed.

He extended his praise to Zayzay for siding with citizens in condemning the actions of the mayor.

After listening to the plight of the concerned residents, Zayzay had advised the mayor to relax her actions until the plans could be discussed. He encouraged the Superintendent of the Mboo Statutory District, Joshua Robinson, to organize a meeting with the mayor and citizens at a convenient time.

When contacted, the mayor said all of her actions were guided by laws and were in the interest of improving the city.

She clarified that her plans were communicated with citizens in a meeting, and nothing was being done unilaterally.

Unification City Mayor, Roseline Davis. Photo: Gbatemah Senah

Davis also stood by her new mandate to abolish selling on Sundays. She said in the 70s, former President William V.S. Tubman introduced the non-selling policy on religious principles. She said selling on Sunday was offensive, as it was God’s holy day.

“We got seven days in a week, you can do all your selling between Monday and Saturday and the one day must be reserved for God,” she said in an interview on Tuesday.

Davis said as a Christian, she would not allow businesses to open on Sundays, except service providers like hospitals and clinics.

When asked about other holy days like Fridays and Saturdays for the Muslims and Adventists, the mayor said she was a Christian and focuses only on biblical commands.

She also confirmed the L$100 dollars charged weekly to each household for garbage collection in the city.

She said citizens had accepted the amount and that it was now binding on every household.

The mayor noted that she was appointed by the President of Liberia, and the district representative did not have the power to stop her from performing her duties.

“All my mandates remain in full swing, and nothing has changed. No selling on Sundays, no selling between six and ten in the morning on every first Saturday and every household must pay L$100 dollars weekly as garbage collection fees,” she reaffirmed.

Featured photo by Gbatemah