Prime Minister Philip Davis lays a wreath in honour of those lost during Hurricane Dorian.
NASSAU, The Bahamas--Government has not ruled out a commission of inquiry to probe events surrounding Hurricane Dorian in 2019, according to Prime Minister (PM) Philip Davis.
Davis was on Abaco on Friday to observe the fourth anniversary of the monster storm and to remember the lives lost. He participated in a wreath laying ceremony in Marsh Harbour, which was largely flattened by Dorian.
“We have not ruled out the possibility of a commission of inquiry with respect to the Dorian episode and trauma, because I feel there are lessons to be learnt from the experiences had – what to do, what not to do in times of trials and tribulations visited by external shocks like a hurricane of the nature and size of Dorian, so that has not been ruled out,” said the PM in response to a reporter’s question.
“We have been having ongoing investigations to determine whether or not it is necessary to have a full blown inquiry – and those investigations are continuing; and where we are unable to get answers through the normal investigative tools – and answers are required and there are answers to be had – if we cannot do it as I say through the normal investigative tools, then, of course, the next step would be to consider whether or not we move to have a commission of inquiry.”
In June 2020, Davis, at the time leader of the official opposition, called on government to launch a commission of inquiry into events surrounding Hurricane Dorian, noting that the Minnis administration “botched up” its handling of the storm’s aftermath.
His comments came amid public confusion regarding the total number of people missing following the category five storm, which ravaged Abaco and Grand Bahama.
“I think we need an inquiry that is wider than this mandate as to what preparation was made in the pre-hurricane, what happened during the hurricane and the post-hurricane recovery efforts,” Davis said.
“You need a holistic investigation of what went on and what went wrong; perhaps a commission of inquiry.”
In his formal remarks at the fourth anniversary memorial of Hurricane Dorian in Abaco, the PM said, “There has been understandable frustration spilling over from the government’s response in 2019 and continuing into 2023, where there is still more vital work that needs to be done.”
He added, “We know that we can do more because Abaco deserves more. And building a stronger Abaco is the most powerful way we can honour the memories of those who are no longer with us. Together, we can come out of any storm – even a super storm like Hurricane Dorian – stronger than before.”
Asked by reporters about the slow progress of Abaco rebuilding, the PM said, “A part of the challenge is the supply chain and being able to access the necessary resources and materials to have the work move more quickly – and we are working on those logistics; so it’s a logistical challenge because of the other external factors that impact our ability to source materials, source the necessary resources to be able to accelerate the work, but I must say over the last several months, we have been able to solve a number of those logistical problems and you will see that work is continuing.
“It’s been four years and the scars of Dorian are still seen, the wounds are still seemingly not healing as quickly as they ought to, and I think we owe the people of Abaco, that those resources help to ensure that healing could become a bit faster.”
Government broke ground on a community centre and hurricane shelter in Central Pines in December 2020, but progress on that facility has been slow.
Davis explained on Friday, “The progress was slow and the reason why I visited the site is to get some explanation as to why it has sort of stalled, and that explanation was given to me and I think you saw and heard some of the reasons why the progress has been as slow as it has been.
“The initial site on which the foundation rests was full of carbons. We saw where slabs of concrete had been poured but yet still over carbonous areas; and so, there was a complete almost reworking of the site which took a lot of time, I am advised.
“The engineers were pointing out to me, the pictures were there to see. You would have seen it; and so, there were some terrible mistakes made at the beginning of that site, and I’m advised as well that the Disaster Reconstruction Authority has engaged the police officers to look at what was going on to determine whether there was any criminal conduct that attended the exercise of what has happened.”
He said the cost of the project ballooned.
“The initial cost was $2.2 million but the original design was, for example, for a resilience of wind to 150 miles per hour, and it has now been increased to 250 miles, so that was a redesign.
“The remedial work – the corrective work that was necessary to ensure that the foundation was solid, correcting and filling in the carbons that they found during a proper geotechnical study on how the ground lay – that also now increased the cost, and I think they are now saying it looks like it’s escalating to around $4 million.” ~ The Nassau Guardian ~
