Compensation offered to families of Mahdia dorm fire insulting – Opposition MPs

Jul 19, 2023 News

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Kaieteur News – Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Amanza Walton-Desir has responded to the move by the Government of Guyana to give the relatives of the 20 children who died in the Mahdia Secondary School dormitory fire $5 million each.

On Monday, it was announced by the Ministry for Legal Affairs that the government will give financial assistance to the families of the children who died in the fire as well as those who were injured.

According to the document seen by this newspaper, each family will receive, if agreed, the sum of $5 million in financial assistance, which constitutes a settlement of all claims and causes of actions on account of all injuries resulting in death and not resulting in death, that resulted from the fire.

“What we learned today is that the affected families have been offered a settlement of $5 million to compensate them for the loss of their children. This situation certainly raises a number of questions,” the Opposition MP said in a video posted on Facebook.

She questioned why 56 days after the Mahdia tragedy the government is yet to constitute the promised Commission of Inquiry (COI) but offers a settlement.

She added, “We were told that by the end of last week, the president that was hopeful that he could name the entire commission, but we see that he has gone off somewhere, attending some conference and the Commission has not yet been empanelled.”

In the Legal Affairs ministry statement, it was highlighted that from the beginning, the Government said it will offer every type of assistance possible and necessary to support the victims and families of the tragic fire.

According to that statement, thus far, medical treatment has been offered both locally and overseas, all transportation to and from Region Eight, to Georgetown and accommodation in Georgetown were provided, all funeral and related expenses have been paid, and all personal items destroyed in the fire have been purchased and delivered. Psychosocial assistance, including counselling, has also been provided.

In response to this, the Opposition MP stated that the support offered to the families outlined by the Ministry of Legal Affairs makes it seem as though the government has forgotten that the children died in the care and custody of the State.

“And so, the State has not been doing a favour to the families. These families left their children in the care of the State trusting that they will be taken care of. So, I want the AG to understand that by enumerating all of these reliefs and assistance that the government would have given to the families, it makes them almost look as if they are expecting these people to be indebted to them somehow when it is the least that they could do to compensate for the negligence that resulted in these children’s gruesome deaths,” Walton-Desir added.

Speaking more on the promised COI, she highlighted that conducting an inquiry into May 21, 2023 fire that resulted in the death of 20 young lives would be the decent and right way to go.

“Because we need to get to the root cause of the system’s failure. What failed? What happened? What were the systems that fail that caused us to lose 20 of our young people in such a horrific manner…” the MP added.

Notably, Walton-Desir questioned a clause in the agreement, which stated that if the aggrieved agree to the accept the settlement, the families are precluded from proceeding with any legal action against the State for negligence or anything on their part that caused the death of the children.

Moreover, for his part Opposition MP Roysdale Forde S.C in a statement yesterday noted the monies offered to the families and survivors of the tragedy, “is no compensation” and called it unacceptable.

He continued: “I categorically condemn the preemptive posture of the Government and hope it is not their intention to by-pass a credible and independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the disaster that took 20 young lives, and any acceptable monetary compensation that must also form part of the Terms of Reference.”

MP Forde said that the miserly sum offered cannot compensate for the years those children lived, the potential value for the investment in those years, and the potential value of each life.

As such, he said the Government must make public what formula they used to “price the grief.”

“The sum offered reeks of Government manipulation to circumvent the arms of justice from holding the Government accountable for their failure to provide safe and secure dwelling for the nation’s children held in their protection.  The parents of Mahdia must not accept this undervaluing of their children’s priceless life,” the Opposition MP added.

To this end, he said that whilst no amount of money can meet the value for each single life, each family’s loss and trauma, some decent effort should be made to show that in this “oil rich country, the fastest growing economy in the world,” human life is not cheapened and has value.

Forde too highlighted the clause in the document which absolves the government for any future potential claims for liability and injury. He said that clause must be rejected.

He added, “This is an insult to our Indigenous community and reinforces my belief the Government does not care about our First People. All the talk about the Indigenous people is only talk because their rights are being eroded under this Government every day. They are continuously being insulted and exploited by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, as a political organisation and Government. The miserly compensation only adds to the growing disrespect.”

The Opposition MP said too, “Our Amerindian women and children are being mentally, physically, sexually, economically and socially abused by a political leadership that see others’ lives as cheap, more comfortable doing their dirty deeds and ignoring the safety and security of the people, after which they seek to buy their dignity rather than accept dignity is priceless…Our First People must tell the Irfaan-Ali Government they are not for sale.”

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• Amanza Walton-Desir, Government, Guyana, Member of Parliament (MP), opposition

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