Along the Rio Claro Main Road is a photo paying tribute to the four divers who passed away. From left Kazim Ali Jr, Yusuf Henry, Rishi Nagassar and Fyzal Kurban. AZP News/Sue-Ann Wayow
THE horrifying deaths of four Trinidad and Tobago scuba divers who were sucked into a pipeline is still plaguing the families of the victims, after two years of no action by the government.
The deaths of four divers sucked into an undersea oil pipeline at Pointe-a-Pierre was terrifying, brutal and tragic yet what we have come to realise in sweet T&T, is the harsh reality that human life is cheap.
The Keith Rowley-led government has not even given a second thought to these families that have lost their major breadwinners and have not acted to remove the board that sat behind directing and making those decisions which led them not to act swiftly to rescue the divers.
The managers that were indecisive or incapable of doing everything in their power to save lives as well, still carry on with the day-to-day business for the company. A commission of enquiry report inferred that Paria made “little or no attempt to rescue” the divers, and the director of public prosecutions (DPP) should consider bringing a corporate manslaughter charge against it.
Many are calling for help to be given to the surviving families who have been struggling since the incident. The opposition is also calling on the government to act and the men’s families should be compensated for life based on the men‘s full pay. The opposition also called for the six-man board of directors of Paria, to be removed yet the government hides behind their investigation and their semantics and have refused to hear or acknowledge any evidence where Paria’s board has to accept liability for the deaths, or to be removed.
The commission of enquiry report into the February 25, 2022, Paria diving tragedy recommended that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) should consider charging Paria with what is commonly known as corporate manslaughter, however to date this seems to fall on deaf ears of our government.
The government’s responsibility at its core is to serve the people of Trinidad and Tobago and keeping this board in place is not serving the people as many quarters are calling for the removal of the directors. It doesn’t matter of their political affiliations to the government and the Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. The PM should not use the ongoing investigation by the DPP as a cover to prevent action against what we all clearly see as a terrible decision by a board and management for not acting swiftly to save lives. All this has done is give our citizens more time to recognise that affliction to this government gives you protection against any kind of misjudgment once you are loyal to this government and continues to erode public trust in Paria’s administration.
Please, Mr Prime Minister commit to the expeditious implementation of the 52 recommendations from the commission’s report. We can’t let this happen again or continue to go on like this anymore, as life can not be considered cheap in our country.
Neil Gosine is an insurance executive. He was appointed a temporary Opposition Senator and is also the treasurer of the UNC and a former chairman of the National Petroleum Marketing Company of Trinidad and Tobago. He holds a Doctorate in Business Administration, a Master’s in Business Administration MBA, BSC in Mathematics and a BA in Administrative Studies. The views and comments expressed in this column are not necessarily those of AZP News, a Division of Complete Image Limited.
Support journalism.AZP News is an independent news organisation that is not affiliated with any big business and depends solely on advertising to pay our bills. Therefore, we are asking for the generosity of our readers to help us with small donations of any amount, but we will be happy with $20, $50 or US$100. Click Here to Donate
T&T, Where Life is Cheap
THE horrifying deaths of four Trinidad and Tobago scuba divers who were sucked into a pipeline is still plaguing the families of the victims, after two years of no action by the government.
The deaths of four divers sucked into an undersea oil pipeline at Pointe-a-Pierre was terrifying, brutal and tragic yet what we have come to realise in sweet T&T, is the harsh reality that human life is cheap.
The Keith Rowley-led government has not even given a second thought to these families that have lost their major breadwinners and have not acted to remove the board that sat behind directing and making those decisions which led them not to act swiftly to rescue the divers.
The managers that were indecisive or incapable of doing everything in their power to save lives as well, still carry on with the day-to-day business for the company. A commission of enquiry report inferred that Paria made “little or no attempt to rescue” the divers, and the director of public prosecutions (DPP) should consider bringing a corporate manslaughter charge against it.
Many are calling for help to be given to the surviving families who have been struggling since the incident. The opposition is also calling on the government to act and the men’s families should be compensated for life based on the men‘s full pay. The opposition also called for the six-man board of directors of Paria, to be removed yet the government hides behind their investigation and their semantics and have refused to hear or acknowledge any evidence where Paria’s board has to accept liability for the deaths, or to be removed.
The commission of enquiry report into the February 25, 2022, Paria diving tragedy recommended that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) should consider charging Paria with what is commonly known as corporate manslaughter, however to date this seems to fall on deaf ears of our government.
The government’s responsibility at its core is to serve the people of Trinidad and Tobago and keeping this board in place is not serving the people as many quarters are calling for the removal of the directors. It doesn’t matter of their political affiliations to the government and the Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. The PM should not use the ongoing investigation by the DPP as a cover to prevent action against what we all clearly see as a terrible decision by a board and management for not acting swiftly to save lives. All this has done is give our citizens more time to recognise that affliction to this government gives you protection against any kind of misjudgment once you are loyal to this government and continues to erode public trust in Paria’s administration.
Please, Mr Prime Minister commit to the expeditious implementation of the 52 recommendations from the commission’s report. We can’t let this happen again or continue to go on like this anymore, as life can not be considered cheap in our country.
Neil Gosine is an insurance executive. He was appointed a temporary Opposition Senator and is also the treasurer of the UNC and a former chairman of the National Petroleum Marketing Company of Trinidad and Tobago. He holds a Doctorate in Business Administration, a Master’s in Business Administration MBA, BSC in Mathematics and a BA in Administrative Studies. The views and comments expressed in this column are not necessarily those of AZP News, a Division of Complete Image Limited.
Support journalism. AZP News is an independent news organisation that is not affiliated with any big business and depends solely on advertising to pay our bills. Therefore, we are asking for the generosity of our readers to help us with small donations of any amount, but we will be happy with $20, $50 or US$100. Click Here to Donate