Dear Editor,
We are mothers, grandmothers, aunts and cousins who are concerned and outraged by the Government’s decision to give five million dollars to the parents of the children who lost their lives and who were injured in the Mahdia Dormitory fire, without waiting on the findings /recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry. A Commission of Inquiry about which we know nothing other than that Major General (Retired) Joe Singh has been named to head it.
The newspapers have reported that families received the payout if they agreed to “sign a settlement of all claims and causes of actions on all counts of injuries resulting in deaths or not resulting in deaths that resulted from the said fire” (Kaieteur News, July 19). In a television interview after the media broke the story (we only know about it because of reporting), the Attorney-General stated, “We should be complimented, rather than condemned as I see some attempts are being made to do in certain quarters by this engagement. You know the Government didn’t have to do this. You realise that? We did not have to offer a cent in financial assistance. The fact is that we have done it, and not because anyone pressured us to do it, but because we felt that it is the least that could have been done and can be done in the circumstances.”
Is Nandlall, on behalf of his government, suggesting that Guyanese must be grateful that they are doling out taxpayers money for the relief of citizens who have suffered because of their negligence? Editor, these are the questions we would like to get answers to:
1) How did the Government arrive at the figure of five million dollars for each family that lost their child or whose child was injured as a result of the fire?
2) Why are families being made to sign a legal contract that says the monies received will settle all claims and causes of actions on account of all injuries resulting in death and not resulting in death?
3) The press release from the Attorney General’s Chambers said that the agreements the families signed (or were made to sign) in no way affect the work of the COI. Are we to understand that when the COI has completed its work, its findings/outcomes/ recommendations would override the legal agreement signed by these parents/ guardians?
4) Why is the Government going ahead without waiting for the findings of the COI to proceed with this matter?
5) One 16 year old teenager is in the lockups, charged with 20 counts of murder. No one else has been found accountable. More, in order to get the $5 million, grieving families had to sign a document that releases the Government from any liability when it comes to the Mahdia fire. Are officials trying to cover up their negligence in providing a safe learning environment for children?
Sincerely,
Norma Adrian
Shirley Ault
Susan Collymore
Halima Khan
Joy Marcus
Jonel Perreira
Maeve Ramsay
Vanessa Ross
Wintress White
And others for Red Thread
