Tragedy
Nineteen die in Mahdia dorm arson: Deep sorrow and shock gripped the small Region Eight town of Mahdia and other hinterland communities after arson obliterated a girls secondary school dormitory on Sunday night claiming 19 lives with another nine hospitalised in Georgetown. After leading a team into the community, President Irfaan Ali announced three days of national mourning and said that no effort would be spared to help stricken families. The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) last Monday declared the tragedy as arson. “We have concluded it was maliciously set. We cannot say at this time who set it but someone set it,” Acting Fire Chief Dwayne Scotland told Stabroek News yesterday. He noted that they are still conducting investigations and are in the process of interviewing witnesses. The nineteen children who perished have been identified as twin sisters Mary and Martha Dandrade, Bibi Rita Jeffrey, Sabrina John, Loreen Evans, Belnisa Evans, Omefia Edwin, Natalie Bellarmine, Andrea Roberts, Lorita Williams, Nickleen Robinson, Sherena Daniels, Eulanda Carter, Lisa Roberts, Cleoma Simon Tracil Thomas and sisters Delecia Edwards and Arianna Edwards along with five-year-old Adonijah Jerome, the son of the caretaker. A number of them hailed from villages outside of Mahdia. This tragedy has plunged the entire country into a state of mourning and the President declared three days of national mourning beginning yesterday afternoon. “I ask that as a nation we utilise the next three days as three days of prayers for these children, their families and the community… There are no words that can describe this magnitude of pain that our brothers and sisters are going through today…We wish this day had never occurred… This is a pain we must carry as a nation and as a family. It is a pain we must share together and support in our prayers,” President Ali said. Information released by the Guyana Police Force said 14 children died inside of the building while the other five succumbed to injuries at the Mahdia District Hospital.
Dorms safety for intense review: As efforts are being made to upgrade the fire prevention systems at dormitories and schools across the country, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn last week stated that none of the doors at the Mahdia Secondary School’s female dormitory were secured by grills. Speaking with this newspaper via telephone, Benn explained that they are looking at ways in which they can enhance fire prevention measures. He stated that while the Guyana Fire Service has been participating in drills and talks at schools, he stated that they would have to relook at ways in which they can boost their efforts. “Yes we will, obviously we have to upgrade the efforts… we have been doing [fire readiness inspection], fire drills and fire talks in schools that still happens with students and guards, but what we have to do is a comprehensive assessment in the dormitories to get a better handle of the situation,” Benn asserted. The deaths of 19 students, 18 of whom are from the Mahdia Secondary School, following a fire has raised serious questions over the fire prevention capabilities within the live-in school system. The nineteen children who perished have been identified as twin sisters Mary and Martha Dandrade, Bibi Rita Jeffrey, Sabrina John, Loreen Evans, Belnisa Evans, Omefia Edwin, Natalie Bellarmine, Andrea Roberts, Lorita Williams, Nickleen Robinson, Sherena Daniels, Eulanda Carter, Lisa Roberts, Cleoma Simon, Tracil Thomas, and sisters Delecia Edwards and Arianna Edwards along with five-year-old Adonijah Jerome, the son of the caretaker. A number of them hailed from villages outside of Mahdia. Benn stated that from his briefing with firefighters it has not been established whether the students participated in any fire drills and or if there were adequate fire prevention and escape routes in place at the dorm. “Where the fire started there was an area with mattresses stored… those caught alight and the fire got into the plastic type ceiling and proceeded along the roof with burning pieces falling onto beds which are of sponge, it went very quickly.” Benn, who was part of the team of government officials led by President Irfaan Ali to Mahdia, emphasised “There was no door which was grilled. The windows were grilled but it was wooden doors.”
Grilled windows at Mahdia dorm were flagged as fire hazard in February – source: Sources say grilled windows at the Mahdia Secondary School Dormitory were flagged by the fire service as a hazard in November of last year and February of this year – months before Sunday’s deadly blaze that claimed 19 lives. Stabroek New understands that the fire hazard was identified following an inspection by the Mahdia arm of the fire service, first in November 2022 and then in February 2023. The Guyana Fire Service in a statement on Tuesday night said that the 26 windows of the flat concrete dormitory “were heavily grilled” while the five doors on the building were locked with keys. On May 21, a fierce blaze took hold of the female dormitory just before midnight claiming the lives 18 females and a five-year-old, the son of the dorm mother. According to the sources, following the initial inspection, a report with recommendations was handed over to the relevant authorities and forwarded to Georgetown. At the same dormitory, recommendations for working fire extinguishers were also made. However, when the fire team carried out a follow up visit in February on the building that was constructed sometime in 2006/2007, none of the recommendations had been implemented. It was noted that not just the dormitory was inspected but all the government buildings located in the township, at the centre of the country. A source, who is familiar with the report, went on to explain that none of the recommendations made has been implemented at any of the buildings to date. When Stabroek News earlier this week contacted Headley Pio, the Chairman of Region Eight of which Mahdia is the capital town, he asked that all questions be directed to the Regional Executive Officer (REO) Peter Ramotar. Ramotar while responding to questions from this newspaper on what actions they would have taken since the recommendations were handed over, became agitated and asked, “Why are you asking all of these questions now… do you have such systems in your office?” He nonetheless stated that to his knowledge, the dormitory was equipped with some amount of fire extinguishers but he could not say how many were in place. “As far as I am aware we have fire extinguishers. I cannot say how much but I know we would have had extinguishers on location,” Ramotar responded. Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn; acting Fire Chief, Dwayne Scotland; and resident Parkinson John, told this newspaper that a single fire extinguisher canister was found outside of the building.
Elections
Key EU elections recommendations yet to be implemented: Following the submission of 26 recommendations in their report on the 2020 General Elections where eight were singled out as priority areas, the European Union Election Observation follow-up mission last week said that many of them are still concerns of stakeholders today, with only two implemented. It is against this background that the mission has reiterated the need for legal and constitutional reform to improve the electoral process, in line with international standards for democratic elections. Of the many concerns raised by the many stakeholders that have met again, is the fact that the issues of the use of state media and campaign financing still have not been addressed nor is there any traction on how soon there can be an agreement among policy makers on these issues. And going into elections 2025 and beyond with this country set to generate the majority of its revenue from the oil and gas sector, the mission believes that it is also imperative that two international anti-corruption conventions be implemented as part of local laws, to prevent corruption especially through the very election campaign financing. “The Convention on Corruption, I don’t think is captured… your country has been blessed by oil and many resources. So your country will be one of the most impressive countries in development. Development is kind of double cutting. It is good for the population if there is development and this influx of money is inclusive…[and on the other hand] that the administration is not overwhelmed by this influx of money that, as I say, is a blessing or a challenge,” Chief of Mission, Javier Nart told reporters at a press conference held at the Pegasus Hotel last Wednesday. On campaign financing, he said that “when financing is dark and you don’t know who is financing… the possibility is that the election is touched.”
Crime
Four prison officers charged over escape of `Smallie’: Superintendent of the Mazaruni Prison, Alexander Hopkinson is among six persons who were charged last Friday with conspiring to facilitate the escape on Friday of death row prisoner Royden Williams known as `Smallie’. The others charged are Rajmohan Autor known as `Chico’, 48, a businessman of Parika Outfall; Frangeliz Jugandry Flores Perez, 28, a Venezuelan of Alexander Street, Kitty; Omar Witherspoon, a prison officer of Stanleytown, New Amsterdam; Conroy Hosannah, a prison officer of Fort Ordnance Housing Scheme, East Canje; Oldfield Romulus, 50, a prison officer of Cumberland Village, East Canje. They appeared at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Crystal Lambert and were all remanded until June 22nd. The charges would be seen as a major blow to the integrity of the prison service at the high security facility at Mazaruni and add to a long list of cases where serious corruption charges have been levelled against members of the Joint Services. Williams who has been convicted of multiple murders – including from the 2008 Bartica Massacre – and sentenced to death would have been one of the highest-value prisoners in the system. Yet on Friday, he easily fled the Mazaruni prison in what was an elaborate plot that saw a visit from a woman in flagrant breach of protocols surrounding death row prisoners followed by a fusillade from a rifleman who had disembarked from a boat that had staked out the area the night before. Supposedly with leg chains, Williams and his accomplice ran and jumped into the river while covering fire was laid by another rifleman aboard the boat. They then motored away from the prison and haven’t been seen since. The Joint Services have searched the Mazaruni and other areas but have embarrassingly seen no sigh of Williams. At last word, Williams and his two accomplices were sporting high-powered rifles.
Canal fisherman murdered after dispute with relative: A 35-year-old fisherman of Canal Number One was murdered on May 20th allegedly after he slapped his cousin for disrespecting his uncle. Dead is Seeram Krishna called ‘Vicky’ of Lot 24 ‘A’ Conservancy Dam Canal Number One, West Bank Demerara. According to a police report, the incident took place around 18:30 hrs on Saturday at Conservancy Dam, Canal Number One. The police said that the suspect, a 19-year-old labourer, was taken into custody.
Lusignan man found dead with throat slashed, pocket ripped out: A 44-year-old construction worker of Lusignan, who was allegedly involved in an argument at a wedding on Saturday night, was found dead some two streets away on May 21st; his throat had been slashed. Dead is Choorandan Chetram called Reid of Lot 101 Lusignan, East Coast Demerara. According to a police report, Chetram was killed between 21:00 hrs on Saturday and 02:30 hrs on Sunday at Lusignan Grass Field. Enquiries disclosed that Choorandan left home at about 16:00 hrs on Saturday to attend a wedding at Lusignan Grass Field. The police said they responded to a 911 call and found the body of a man on the Lusignan access road about two streets from the wedding, in a pool of what appeared to be blood. The body was examined, and a length wound about three inches was seen on the throat.
Accident
Three Guyanese die in Brazil crash: A Guyanese businessman, his son and a health care worker attached to the Lethem Regional Hospital, died in an accident on Boa Vista Highway, Brazil, last Saturday morning. They have been identified as 49-year-old Carmichael Joseph, his son, 20-year-old Lindomar Joseph, and Junnita Honorio of Tiger Pond Village, Karasabai, Region Nine. Honorio was a health care worker attached to the Lethem Regional Hospital. Carmichael was a popular businessman in Lethem who owned and operated the City Boy nightclub. The accident occurred at Toucan Region, on the Boa Vista Highway, Brazil and involved a lorry and a pickup truck. Preliminary reports state that the three deceased were the occupants of the pickup. According to a Lethem Regional Hospital Facebook post, “Junnita Honorio was an exceptional healthcare professional whose passion for patient care and unwavering commitment to her profession were truly inspiring. Junnita’s invaluable contributions to our healthcare facilities will be remembered with deep gratitude.”
