…slams Forde, Walton-Desir for shedding “crocodile tears”
Despite what the critics may say, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has assured, the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Mahdia Secondary School dormitory fire will proceed, notwithstanding the fact that families of those who perished in the tragedy recently signed agreements to receive financial assistance from the Government.
It has been reported that the families of those children who perished in the May 21 fire will receive $5 million each as part of a series of assistance from the Government since the tragedy occurred.
While Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall has already shut down the critics, Jagdeo also had some words for the naysayers, telling a press conference on Thursday that from the inception of the disaster, the Government has been proactive.
“From the very beginning, this Government led from the top on this issue. The President himself visited Mahdia several times. You contrast that with Granger’s behaviour when we had tragedies of that nature. How many times Granger went to the prison or met with the families when 17 persons were burnt up in the prison fire or in other places?” the Vice President posited.
“Almost every minister that I know was assigned to families. They worked with them to take people through a very difficult period; to put in place the logistics, to assist the families personally from the beginning,” he added.
Among some of the criticisms regarding the Government’s monetary assistance is that it should have awaited the outcome of a CoI in the event it determines a higher value is needed. Another criticism is that the monies can be seen as “hush money”, and may influence the outcome of the CoI.
But Jagdeo argued that families needed and had requested the monetary assistance now.
“We don’t know what will come out of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI), and we have an open mind on that, but we are going to assist the families now, many of them need the assistance now,” he said.
The Vice President went on to call out Opposition Members of Parliament Amanza Walton-Desir and Roysdale Forde regarding their criticisms on the topic.
“I call it crocodile tears. They have absolutely no concern for Indigenous people. Their policy showed it in the past,” Jagdeo asserted.
The Opposition Parliamentarians, among other things, questioned the credibility of the COI now that the families have received money from the Government. But Nandlall had already shut down this line of thinking, noting that the entire transaction was done in an open manner. In fact, he said the families had an audience with private lawyers, who helped to break down the agreements they signed, and had even advised them of their right not to accept the terms. Nandlall had also explained that putting it in writing allows for transparency of public spending.
From the time of the fire, Government has covered all expenses borne by the affected families: airfares, accommodation in the city, funeral costs, as well as replacing the items lost in the fire. The fire claimed the lives of 20 children – 19 girls from the dormitory and a five-year-old boy who was the son of the dorm parents.
Meanwhile, a CoI headed by Major General (retired) Joe Singh is expected to be launched into the Mahdia tragedy.
