By Sue-Ann Wayow
CHAIR of the Commission of Enquiry (CoE) charged with the mandate of investigating the deaths of the four underwater divers in February, Jerome Lynch, QC, intends on visiting the site of the tragedy.
Lynch who was appointed as Commissioner on Wednesday, spoke at his first press conference on Thursday.
The conference was held at the Southern Academy for Performing Arts (SAPA) in San Fernando.
Lynch promised to “leave no stone unturned” in the investigation.
The Commissioners are to examine and enquire into all of the circumstances which led to the tragic incidents which occurred on February 25 at facilities owned by Paria Fuel Trading Company Limited located at No 36, Sealine Riser, Berth No. 6, just off Pointe-a-Pierre which led to the deaths of four employees of sub-contractor LMCS Limited – Fazal Kurban, Rishi Nagassar, Yusuf Henry and Kazim Ali Jr.
The deaths caused national outcry with citizens calling for justice for the divers.
Lynch said, “For my part, I would certainly be interested in during the course of this investigative stage to be obtaining as much by way of clarity as we can. And that may mean a number of things.”
He said that included charts or plans detailing the berth.
Lynch added, “I would like to think that we might visit the site… I would certainly like to be at the site.”
Head of the legal team providing support to the Commission Ramesh Lawrence-Maharaj also said, “It would be very important for us to be able to be on the scene and with modern technology to see basically what happened or near to what happened that day so that we can get a real picture as to what happened.”
When asked if they will indeed be visiting Berth 6, Lynch replied, “I can’t imagine us not going there.”
Lynch replaces Dennis Morrison, QC, who resigned citing personal reasons. The CoE came into effect on April 22. Commissioner subsea specialist Gregory Wilson was not in attendance at the conference as he was currently offshore.
While he has been on several CoEs for various reasons, this is the first time, Lynch was chairing one.
Lynch said Morrison had very large shoes to fill but he believed with his knowledge, experience and expertise that he will be able to do a competent job leaning on the support of the secretariat headed by Sarah Sinanan and Lawrence-Maharaj and his team.
He said the first public hearing will now be conducted on September 7 instead of the initial suggested August date at 10.30 am.
Lynch said, “I ask you the public for one thing, please be a little bit more patient with us.”
He assured that he began his duties from Thursday.
Lynch added, “There is much to be done but I am not going to hurry it.”
The Commissioner also said he was aware of the many issues surrounding the tragedy as well as the criticisms and that he begins his enquiry with an open mind.
He also emphasised that it was not the Commission’s responsibility to execute nay judgment based on findings but only to make recommendations.
Lynch also stressed that the enquiry was a public one and therefore documents and evidence will be accessible to all.
Evidence gathering
Lawrence-Maharaj explained the evidence-gathering process.
He said within seven to ten days, public notices would be published on the Commission’s website and in the media to invite persons who have relevant evidence to submit statements and documents to the Commission.
The Commission would then determine whether that evidence is relevant in the context of the Terms of Reference.
The persons would be interviewed by the staff of the Secretariat and witness statements would be recorded from them and signed also by them.
Letters would also be issued to relevant persons and entities who may also have relevant information. These entities include Paria Fuel Trading Company, LMCS and the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard.
Those letters were currently being drafted and will be issued soon, Lawrence-Maharaj said.
Additionally, a working schedule identifying 29 directly affected persons, organisations and interested parties have also been prepared together with proposed dedicated letters inviting them to submit evidence, statements and documents to the Commission.
The Investigatory and the Evidential stages of the Commission will be governed by the Procedural Rules which will be published on the Commission’s website within the next two weeks.
Problems with the Public Service
In order to meet deadlines, however, the public service needed to move expeditiously to assist the Commission.
Lawrence-Maharaj said, “The Secretariat, however, is constrained by the public service procurement rules which govern the recruitment of contracted staff and the assignment of public officers from other departments to the Secretariat and in the vetting of potential staff for the Commission. While we recognise these constraints, we hope that the Secretariat will shortly be fully staffed so that the Commission can convene the procedural hearing as planned and the subsequent evidentiary hearings.”
He also said that the Secretariat would require a staff of ten and is hoping that the Public Service can expedite the hiring of such as well as putting in place the necessary resources to be used by Sinanan and her staff who will be based at SAPA.
Some of the contracted staff are being vetted by the Special Branch.
In the meantime, Sinanan has temporary access to internet and telephone services.
To date, the Commission was still awaiting the decision from the public service as to whether it will have the use of the facilities at the Port-of-Spain Waterfront to have procedural and evidential hearings.
Lynch will be leaving Trinidad on Saturday but will be back in time for the September 7 hearing.
