Minister: Paria drowning CoE’s needs being met

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Symon de Nobriga at post Cabinet media briefing at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s, on Thursday. Photo by Sureash Cholai

MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS and Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Symon de Nobriga said that government is ensuring that issues raised by chairman of the Commission of Enquiry into the deaths of four divers in the Paria tragedy were being addressed. He should have everything he needs to begin the enquiry by Friday, De Nobriga said.

“I have spoken to the people responsible for delivering,” De Nobriga said at the Post Cabinet media conference held at the Diplomatic Centre in Port of Spain.

“It is unfortunate that these matters had to be addressed today and not previously but we have taken all steps to ensure that the office will be operating as an office with all the necessary inputs.”

He said stationary is expected to be delivered first thing on Friday morning and people were on Thursday working on setting up work stations. He added that internet connection was originally carded to be completed on Friday, but was fast-tracked to be addressed on Thursday.

When asked, De Nobriga declined to identify which body had the responsibility of procuring the items necessary for setting up the office, saying that in ascribing the responsibility, it would, in effect, assign blame and he didn’t want to blame anyone.

“What the office wants to do is draw a line having seen the issue and being concerned by it I followed up on it today and my understanding is that the next time Mr Lynch comes to speak he should be able to speak having come from a position of having had the issues identified and addressed in the fastest possible manner.”

On Wednesday chairman of the COE, Jamaican jurist Jerome Lynch complained that the commission did not have even the basic necessities to begin the inquiry into the deaths of the four divers in Paria. At a media conference he said they were lacking pens, pencils, paper, work stations and internet connection to begin the inquiry, carded to start that same day.

He thanked Minister of Energy Stuart Young for his assistance in “plundering the offices of the Prime Minister in order to provide chairs.”

On February 25 Paria Fuel Trading Company made a statement saying an incident occurred during an underwater maintenance exercise involving private contractors LMCS Ltd at the no. 36 Sealine riser on Berth 6 at Paria Trading Company ltd, Point-a-Pierre. The incident involved a five-man diving team – Fyzal Kurban, Kazim Ali Jr, Rishi Nagassar Yusuf Henry and Cristopher Boodram. Boodram was the only survivor in the incident.

It was announced that a five-member team including former Energy Chamber Chairman Eugene Tiah would be appointed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the diving tragedy, but in the conversations with the Prime Minister in March, Dr Keith Rowley said the five-man team would be scrapped for a Commission of Enquiry.

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