The Tribune

By Earyel Bowleg

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said a commission of inquiry over Hurricane Dorian has not been ruled out.

He said officials await the police’s report to make a determination.

When he was the leader of the Opposition, Mr Davis called for an independent inquiry either by outside police investigators or through a commission of inquiry to determine the fate of those missing in Abaco and Grand Bahama after the Category 5 storm.

There was considerable confusion at the time over the number of people still missing after the storm. In June 2020, then National Security Minister Marvin Dames said in a press statement 279 people are missing. However, then Assistant Commissioner of Police Solomon Cash said 33 people were still missing.

It was reported in October 2021 that an ongoing assessment of the impact and recovery efforts of the storm would determine if an inquiry is needed.

Speaking to the press on Friday in Abaco, Mr Davis said: “We have not ruled out the possibility of a commission of inquiry in respect to Dorian, the Dorian episode and trauma because I feel that there are lessons to be learned from the experiences at 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’s not been ruled out. 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 then and answers are required and there are answers to be had.

“If we cannot do it through the normal investigative tools, then of course, the next step would be to consider whether or not we move to having a commission of inquiry.”

A Coroner’s Court ordered in May 2021 that death certificates be issued to the families of five victims who died during Hurricane Dorian in 2019 after ruling that drowning was their most likely cause of death.

In a written ruling handed down, Coroner Jeannine Weech-Gomez ordered for death certificates to be issued to the families of James Capron, Jeffrey Danis, Melida Almazie, Antonio Outten and Claudine Byfield Etienne.