Latest update January 30th, 2025 6:10 AM
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Members of Mahdia fire COI to be sworn in next week – Jagdeo
Kaieteur News – Members of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the deadly fire that claimed the lives of 19 children at the Mahdia School Dormitory in May this year will be sworn in on Wednesday, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has said.
He made this disclosure during his weekly press conference held on Thursday. The announcement comes weeks after it was announced by President Irfaan Ali that the Government will launch a CoI into the deadly school dormitory fire.
Ali had said that all members of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) tasked with investigating the tragic fire at the Mahdia girls’ dormitory will be selected after consultation with a number of potential candidates. It was also suggested that that Major General (ret’d) Joseph Singh would be a suitable candidate to lead the inquiry.
On May 22, 2023, a devastating fire ripped through the Mahdia Secondary School Girls’ Dormitory in Region Eight, resulting in 20 deaths. The government has since lent support to the families in the form of a $5 million settlement to the affected families.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton told a news conference on Thursday that his party will not relent in its call for an independent commission of inquiry into the Mahdia Dormitory Fire. “Seventy-four painful days have now elapsed. The government continues to dilly-dally in the hope that the matter will fade from the national limelight, memory, and conscience. It will not,” Norton asserted.
He said the more the government stalls in appointing an independent commission of inquiry, then the more it exposes itself as uncaring and callous. “It exposes its disregard for the collective pain and grief of the nation over the tragedy. It also reveals its intention to bury the matter in the hope that the grieving parents and the nation will soon forget and move on. It exposes its tendency to put Freedom House first and foremost, even to the extent of protecting incompetent PPP ministers and officials regardless of the cost to the citizens and the nation.” In this regard, Norton said: “We must note the government’s protection of Nigel Dharamlall who serious allegation of rape has been leveled against him. The same is true about Bharrat Jagdeo against whom serious allegations of bribery and corruption have been made.” Norton said through their voices and votes, the Guyanese people will not allow the PPP to get away without full accountability, liability, and responsibility.
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