PHOTO: LCC President Bishop Kortu Brown at pre-Armed Forces Day church service
By Augustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com
The President of the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC) has called on the government to give adequate budgetary support to the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), in order to help in curbing ignorance, poverty and food insecurity in the country.
Bishop Kortu Brown said Liberia needs to follow the examples of neighboring countries, where their armies are engaged in several civil oriented activities aimed at improving the lives of their compatriots.
Bishop Brown was speaking at the thanking service held in observance of the 64th celebration of the Armed Forces day held at the New Water in The Desert Assembly in Monrovia’s Brewerville suburb on Sunday, February 7, 2021.
The service, held just days before AFL Day this Thursday, February 11, was graced by large number of people including AFL Chief of Staff, Major General Prince C. Johnson, commanders of battalions and units of the AFL among others.
Bishop Brown said Liberia is at war with poverty, ignorance and food insufficiency and the AFL should use the time sitting doing nothing to assist in curbing these menaces from the country.
The LCC’s President pointed out that there has been no strategic plan to remove Liberia from these bondages that have held this nation down because the next ten years this country will still be suffering from the prevailing problems.
“We cannot have an army that just converge at the their barracks idly only to take salaries at the end of the month while the thousands of people are ignorant, some suffering from hunger and poverty,” Bishop Brown said
He added: “The army must move from its present stage and follow the productive ventures as it is by armies in the West African region.”
Defense Min Daniel Ziankahn and other top brass of the AFL
Bishop Brown the AFL to remain loyal by sticking to its constitutional mandate and staying away from politics by leaving the issue of governance with the politicians
The late President William Tolbert declared ignorance, poverty and hunger as the severe problems affecting the country, the Council of Churches President noted.
National Defense Minister, Daniel Ziankahn called on the religious communities to continue pray for the Liberian Army especially as they are engaged in peace keeping in trouble spots in several countries on the African continent.
Liberia’s Defense Minister noted that there is an increasing demand for soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia to be deployed as peace keepers in troublesome areas on the African Continent.
Minister Ziahkahn thanked the New Water in the Desert Church for praying for the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia, the AFL Chief of Staff and the men and women in the Liberian army.