Handing over the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) report into the Mahdia dorm fire which claimed 20 lives on May 21, 2023, Chairman, Major General (Rtd) Joe Singh said a fully-equipped facility would not have yielded a different result on the night of the tragedy given the speed of the conflagration.
He made the statement yesterday at State House where the report was handed over to President Irfaan Ali.
According to Singh, the printed version of the report was unanimously supported by all commissioners who had received their Instruments of Appointment on August 10, 2023, and began public hearings on September 15 which ended on November 10, 2023.
In his remarks, he highlighted that the fire was an act of arson by an individual. A resident of the dorm is currently facing 20 charges of murder.
Despite the disclosure of fire prevention inadequacies at the dorms during hearings of the inquiry held in September, Singh posited that even if the dorm was fully equipped, the situation would have still delivered the same result.
In explaining his statement, he noted that due to failed efforts in contacting and get the assistance of firefighters, there were stumbling blocks to accessing the building.
After hearing the testimonies of 29 witnesses, reviewing a number of recordings, reports and statements, and making visits to communities including Mahdia, Micobie, Chenapau, and Karisparu, all located in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), the CoI Chairman said that there is supporting evidence which substantiates the commission’s findings and recommendations in the report.
Singh said that the commission examined several factors, including the influence of the mining culture on communities, vulnerability of youth, the influence of adults who groom young females, sometimes supported by family members who benefit financially, and the negligence of officials from the Guyana Fire Service and others in the education sector and in relation to psychosocial services.
“It is our hope that this report from the inquiry will be an instrument to changes necessary in ensuring there will be no recurrence of such a tragedy.
“We recommend and urge that a suitable memorial be erected on the site of the female dormitory as an act of remembrance and a reminder to us that there is nothing more important than caring for and mentoring our children,” Singh said.
Meanwhile President Ali in his remarks said that the issues highlighted are already being addressed in a holistic manner.
“Moving forward, based on the report, we have already identified another challenge which is the boys. There are a number of recommendations [brought by the Minister of Education] to deal with boys not attending school as a result of what took place and we are looking at how we address this issue in a holistic way.”
The President was adamant that the children in those respective communities should have not experienced such a tragedy but assured that the mistakes made will never go unlearnt nor unresolved.
He stressed that children must operate in a conducive learning environment.
“This is sadly a tragic part of our history… we have to mark this unfortunately as part of us now, part of our country and we have to mark it with a commitment to doing everything to prevent such a recurrence, including behavioural change.”
As such, the Head of State urged parents to ensure they show children “tough love” in order to stimulate the change needed.
The Terms of Reference (TOR) published on August 15, 2023, mandated the commissioners to: 1) Inquire and report on the events and circumstances leading up to and causes of the Mahdia dorm fire on the night of May 20th, 2023. (2) Inquire into and report upon the actions taken to provide swift care, medical attention and other forms of support and aid to families of the injured and deceased victims. And 3) make recommendations and observations as may be deemed fit which includes measures and actions that the commission may consider necessary to prevent recurrences of such tragedy.
In the days after the fire, it became known that the Mahdia fire service had twice made recommendations for the metal security grills on the dorm to be removed, but to no avail. It was also later disclosed that a report commissioned by the Ministry of Education to assess the dorms had found that fire safety measures were absent at the Mahdia Secondary School girls’ dorm. That report was available in May, 2022.
At the CoI session on November 9, Counsel Keoma Griffith castigated Chief Fire Officer (Ag) Gregory Wickham, and former Regional Education Officer (ReDO) for Region Eight, Annesta Douglas, for their lack of urgency towards the dire need for fire prevention supplies at the Mahdia Secondary School dorm as was recommended in a fire inspection report by Sub-Officer Ryan Scott of the Mahdia Fire Station.
The MoE/UNICEF Report
Griffith also directed the commission to the Ministry of Education’s (MoE) report funded by UNICEF on the state of dormitories in Guyana where 24 dormitories were listed for immediate remediation.
He referenced that while the top five of the 24 dorms were dubbed as “major priorities,” the Mahdia school dorm was not ranked as a “major priority” in the wake of its known deficiencies.
According to the terms of reference of the MoE/UNICEF report, the standards for dormitories are as follows:
• Floor spacing per child/adult across all living quarters such as dining/sleeping/laundry and kitchen spaces, communal study area; sports facility; and living quarters for dormitory parents.
• Recommendations for the utilisation of green technologies; access to sustainable water resources and safe sanitation methods; and the usage of local materials and skills as well as photovoltaic power where possible.
• Human resources requirements for every aspect of dormitory life such as house parents; cooks; welfare officers/counsellors; and ancillary staff.
• Financial implications for meeting comprehensive standards across the dormitory plant.
The ministry’s report had been delivered a year before the fire and was not disclosed even in the aftermath of the fire until Stabroek News published its major findings.
Asked by Stabroek News when the report will be published, CoI Secretary Javed Shadick via WhatsApp told this newspaper “soon.”
The handing-over ceremony was held in the presence of government officials including Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand; Minister of Local Government, Sonia Parag, alongside her colleague Anand Persaud (who is a minister in the ministry); Attorney General & Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, other commissioners of the inquiry; Dr Kim Kyte-Thomas and Derrick John; Secretary Javed Shadick; and Counsel Keoma Griffith.
