THE public hearing regarding the Mahdia female dormitory fire, which killed 20 children, will begin on Friday, September 15, as part of the activity of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI).

This announcement was made by the CoI’s Secretary, Javed Shadick, during a media briefing, on Wednesday.

Chaired by retired Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Major General Joe Singh, alongside Derrick John, Chairman of the National Toshaos’ Council (NTC), and Attorney-at-law, Kim Kyte-Thomas, the CoI is expected to hear testimonies from the first three witnesses on Friday commencing at 09:00 hours.

Shadick told reporters that witnesses expected to testify include first responders and individuals from relevant ministries present at the scene. He added several ministers have expressed their willingness to provide testimony regarding the tragic incident.

Given that children are central to the tragedy, the CoI hearings will not be live-streamed, since the safety and well-being of the witnesses are a top priority.

“We decided that the hearing will not be aired live. However, it will be conducted in the presence of the press, and they will be making their report to the public,” Shadick said.

The victims will also be testifying before the CoI in the presence of their parents and social workers to mitigate any potential trauma.

The lawyer for the 15-year-old student, who has been charged with the murders, had written to the CoI requesting that the hearing be paused pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings against his client.

The lawyer expressed concerns that it might expose his client to “pre-trial publicity” that could jeopardise her chances of receiving a fair trial.

However, Shadick explained that the CoI was never intended to investigate any crime, but the circumstances leading up to the incident.

“There is no intention of this inquiry to prove anything…The inquiry will be focused on its terms of reference (ToR),” he said.

The ToR outlines that the commission will investigate and report on the events leading up to the dormitory fire, as well as the fire’s causes. Additionally, the CoI will examine the actions taken to provide care, medical attention, and support to the injured and deceased and their relatives in a timely manner. The commission is also expected to make recommendations for necessary measures to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

Shadick explained that, hopefully, public hearing could be wrapped up within a month after which a report of the findings would be submitted to the President.

In July, the government took steps to alleviate the suffering of the victims’ families by announcing financial assistance of $5 million each.

This compassionate initiative, according to the President, will not impede the CoI’s work. President, Dr. Irfaan Ali had previously assured aggrieved family members of full compensation in the aftermath of the fire.

These commitments were formalised in written agreements to ensure transparency in the allocation of public funds.

In the agreement, the government pledged to continue to offer such support as may be necessary to the victims and their families.

Given that public funds are being expended and recognising that these expenditures will have to be transparently accounted for, the agreements were translated into writing.

On May 22, the country was plunged into mourning after a fire that authorities said was maliciously set, ravaged a secondary school girls’ dormitory in Mahdia.

At the time of the fire, 56 of the girls were present, as three had gone home to their families for the weekend.

The children housed at the ‘dorms’ came from the communities of Karisparu, El Paso, Micobie, and Chenapao.

Initially, 18 girls from the ‘dorm’ and a five-year-old boy, who was the son of the ‘Dorm Mother’, perished in the fire, but another student who was injured in the fire, passed away a few days later.

Several of the survivors were airlifted to Georgetown for emergency care. One critically injured girl was medevacked to a New York health facility for further treatment and has been released.