Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh told the Parliamentary Committee of Supply today that a percentage of the $350M in supplementary funding budgeted under his Office, will be used to assist the families of the Mahdia fire victims, including the survivors.

“Under this particular line item, in this instance, this additional amount that is being sought, is included a provision to meet the cost of the financial assistance that is being provided to the families of the girls, who so tragically lost their lives in Mahdia, and those who were injured in that tragic incident,” Dr Singh told the Committee.

He said in responding to the devastating incident, the Government made a number of emergency interventions, and as such, part of the allocation will also be used to recoup those costs. 

However, though being pressed for greater details by Opposition Member of Parliament, Volda Lawrence, the Finance Minister declined to disclose what percentage of the $350M will go directly to the families of the fire victims.

“This is obviously a matter of, and justifiably so, of great interest and concern, and I think as a nation, we all witnessed the horror of events that unfolded that night and shared the pain of the families thereafter. And without a doubt the importance of this issue is not to be questioned in anyway whatsoever. But equally so sir, this matter has been the subject of a lot of discussions in the public domain, and statements have been made by the Attorney General, and by the President no less, on this matter, and I don’t believe it is a necessity and I have no intention of repeating what has been said,” the Finance Minister told the Committee.

MP Lawrence also questioned the Finance Minister on the criteria used by the Government to arrive at the amount, but none of the two questions were answered.  

Last month, it was revealed that the Government signed an agreement with the families of the fire victims, committing to provide $5M to each of the families of the 20 victims and $3M to the survivors. In doing so, it cleared itself of any liability.

Addressing the issue on his weekly programme ‘Issues in the News’ last evening, the Attorney General, Anil Nandlall disclosed that a total of 31 families signed the agreement.

“On the 3^rd of July, 20 of those agreements were signed, and on the 31^st of July, 11 was signed. Eleven was signed on the 31^st of July and the 1^st of August, and on the 3^rd and 4^th of August, 20 were signed, and that was the number of agreements that we had signed based upon Cabinet’s decision. So, all the agreements were signed,” the Attorney General explained.

The Government has been heavily criticized for the settlement, ahead of the promised Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the deadly blaze.

President Irfaan Ali has brushed aside the concerns, telling the press that there is no need to await the COI to offer financial assistance to the affected families.

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