‘An unfortunate outcome of several factors’

–findings handed over to President Ali
–tender process to be launched for systematic improvements in every educational facility

IT has been revealed by the findings of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) that the deadly Mahdia dormitory fire in 2023 was due to several factors, especially the “grave neglect” of the facility under the APNU+AFC government.

The report was handed over to President Dr. Irfaan Ali by the CoI chairman, retired Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Major-General Joe Singh, who was accompanied by fellow commissioners, Chairman of the National Toshaos’ Council (NTC) Derrick John, and Attorney-at-law Kim Kyte-Thomas.

The CoI commenced the hearing in September last, in accordance with its Terms of Reference, which outlined that the commission would investigate and report on the events leading up to the dormitory fire, as well as its causes.

During his report presentation, Major General (Ret’d) Singh said that based on the evidence, the CoI reaffirmed that an individual intentionally set the fire in summary.

Notwithstanding, this was also determined that the events and circumstances leading up to the causes of the fire were “an unfortunate outcome of several factors”.

The factors outlined in the report include the influence of the mining culture on social relationships, the vulnerability of youth, especially teenage females, and the negligence of officials regarding fire readiness.

The CoI discovered inadequacies in the dormitory’s fire prevention measures, noting that even a better-equipped facility might not have altered the tragic outcome having regard to the cause of the fire.

Upon receiving the report, President Ali assured the Commission that the recommendations would be integrated into areas requiring improvement.

He acknowledged the ongoing work by the government, and recognised areas where improvement was needed.

The President expressed satisfaction with the report’s recognition of the government’s efforts, and its acknowledgement of systemic issues that needed addressing.

“I’m very pleased with the report; there is strong recognition for the work that is ongoing, and the intervention by the government. There is also the obvious recognition of where we could have done better where there are systemic issues that need to be addressed, including the issue of this storm coming to the attention in the last administration, aspects of safety and nothing was done,” President Ali said.

The Guyana Chronicle was made to understand that the CoI report drew attention to the “Ed. Caesar Report”, coming out of a study conducted in 2017 under the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration, which flagged issues with neglected school dormitories.

The CoI found that the APNU+AFC government had done nothing to address the dormitories’ deteriorated state, despite the findings of the 2017 report at reference.

GRAVE NEGLECT
This negligence was described in the recent CoI report as “a grave neglect of duty bordering on recklessness”.

The commissioners highlighted that those in power during the period of 2017-2020 had blatantly neglected the facilities responsible for the care and welfare of the country’s children residing in dormitories.

According to the CoI, the issues highlighted in the ‘Ed Caesar Report’ were, to a great extent, inherited by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C)-led government from the previous administration.

Based on the witnesses who testified and the evidence, the COI commissioners found that while those said issues are being addressed by the current administration, the magnitude of neglect which was inherited rendered “full rectification a time-consuming exercise”.

Unfortunately, the tragedy struck before more could have been achieved.

President Ali reassured the CoI commissioners that the recommendations align with the government’s policymaking and the Ministry of Education’s expenditure for 2024.

“We are going to continue to do all we can, and I want to assure the Commission that your recommendations and your output here are critically integrated. But, wherever there is still room for the further integration of your recommendations, you can rest assured that the Minister of Education, the Cabinet and the government will be incorporating those recommendations,” the Head of State said.

The Ministry of Education is expected to launch a tender process for systematic improvements in every educational facility, addressing issues highlighted in the CoI report.

Additionally, the Ministry of Health will be involved in improving sanitation and fire responsiveness.

President Ali expressed satisfaction with the strong recognition given the government’s ongoing efforts in the report.

A PROPER MEMMORIAL
He mentioned plans for a proper memorial in remembrance of the lives lost in the tragic incident. Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, will engage with the Private Sector Commission to pool resources for the memorial.

“We have commissioned various artists to come up with a representation of what this memorial should be… Because the memorial of this nature is one that is very important,” he said.

The President commended his Cabinet members for their support and dedication to supporting the affected families during the difficult period.

Major General Singh also applauded the government’s quick response and expressed optimism that the report would serve as an instrument for necessary change.

During the public hearings, 29 witnesses testified, including the facility’s dorm mother and father, and senior fire officials, among others.

On May 22, 2023, 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 Chenapau.

Initially, 18 girls from the ‘dorm’ and the five-year-old son of the ‘Dorm Mother and Father’, 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. She has since returned after a successful round of treatment.