COMMISSIONERS for the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the deadly Mahdia ‘dorm’ fire, which claimed the lives of 20 children, will be sworn in next Wednesday.

This announcement was made by the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo during a press conference on Thursday.

In June, President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali announced that retired Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Major General Joe Singh will head the team that will conduct the CoI into the deadly fire.
According to the Head of State, the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the CoI are in the process of being finalized, so as to guide the Commission on what it will set out to accomplish.

On May 22, just a few days before Guyana celebrated Independence Day a tragic fire gutted the Mahdia Secondary School’s female dormitory. At the time of the fire, 56 of the girls were present, as three had gone home with 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 a 20th student who was injured in the fire, passed away a few days later.

President Ali had committed to the launching of a CoI to investigate the causes and circumstances of the deadly Mahdia fire, and guide the way forward.