Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is willing to meet the families of the victims of the Paria Fuel diving tragedy if they want to meet with him - but the PM says he will not play politics with the tragedy.
Rowley spoke on the issue at a media conference at Whitehall, Port-of-Spain, having returned from a trip to the United States.
February 25 will mark two years since the incident at Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd’s Pointe-a-Pierre location, where LMCS divers Fyzal Kurban, Kazim Ali Jnr, Yusuf Henry, Rishi Nagessar and Christopher Boodram were sucked into a pipe on which they were contracted to work. Boodram was the only survivor.
The families have been protesting outside Paria’s headquarters since the Commission of Enquiry report on the matter was released recently. Attorney Prakash Ramadhar, who is representing some of them, has also called on Paria to make a $5 million ex-gratia payment to each family.
Yesterday, Rowley said he wouldn’t prejudice the matter and will not play politics with it.
“If the families wants to meet me as Prime Minister, I will meet with them but I will not meet with them in the context of any political outcome of the Paria tragedy,” he said.
“They are families - I have a responsibility for them - I’m the Prime Minister of all of T&T and if the families want to meet with me, I’ll meet with them, but I’m not playing politics with the Paria tragedy,”
Family members had recently given Paria a week to meet them. Vanessa Kussie (UNC councillor for Couva West-Roystonia), wife of deceased diver Nagessar, recently said the families need assistance to look after their children.
