By Sue-Ann Wayow

ENERGY Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal and Attorney General John Jeremie SC are being asked to make the report into the explosion at Niquan Energy public at the earliest possible time.

The request comes from attorney Anand Ramlogan SC following the ruling by Justice Avason Quilan-Williams on Friday.

 Quilan-Williams ruled that the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs which was then headed by former minister and prime minister Stuart Young acted unlawfully by refusing to publicly disclose the report.

Ramlogan and his legal team represented the widow of Allanlane Ramkissoon, who died in June 2023 after he sustained burns about his body from the explosion.

In a statement on Saturday, Ramlogan said, “We welcome the judgment of the court in this matter, as it reinforces the need for transparency and accountability by the government in public life.

“This is just one in a series of important issues where the government’s political modus operandi was to announce an investigation with a promise to disclose the report to the public and relevant stakeholders—an attempt at political damage control to quell public outrage.

“Unfortunately, once the investigation was completed, the very government that made the public promise would deny aggrieved citizens their right to access the investigative report, thereby frustrating and preventing their pursuit of justice.”

He went on to list other instances in which reports were not disclosed and either appeals withdrawn or persons still awaiting judgement.

Ramlogan said, “These investigations are funded by taxpayers, and the government has a constitutional duty to be transparent and accountable to the public by making full and frank disclosures of these investigative reports. Suppressing and hiding these reports is the hallmark of dictatorship and shows contempt for the people.”

He said a young man lost his life in tragic circumstances, and his wife was entitled to know the facts and circumstances that led to his untimely death in the explosion at NiQuan.

The occupational health and safety issues that had been simmering at NiQuan could and should have been addressed beforehand to safeguard and protect the health and safety of workers. For some strange reason, that was not done, and people may have needlessly lost their lives, Ramlogan added.

Ramlogan said the money the government spent defending the case could have instead been given to the man’s wife.

“This was a classic case of defending the indefensible. It was the height of political hypocrisy for the government to consistently announce an investigation, only to then disingenuously backpedal on its promise to make the report public after the public outrage subsided,” he said.

Ramlogan also vowed to relentlessly pursue the other cases in which the government refused to disclose investigative reports with the hope that those judgments will usher in a new era of transparent and accountable government.