PARIA Commission of Enquiry (CoE) chairman Jerome Lynch, KC, is confident that the commission's report into last February's tragedy at Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd's Pointe-a-Pierre facilities will "see the light of day."
Lynch expressed this confidence at the commission's final, virtual hearing on Wednesday, the day before he was due to hand the 380-page report and an associated hard drive containing the report to President Christine Kangaloo.
In an e-mail response to Newsday on Tuesday, commission officials said the November 30 deadline still stood.
On February 25, 2022, divers Rishi Nagassar, Kazim Ali Jr, Fyzal Kurban, Yusuf Henry and Christopher Boodram were doing maintenance work on a 30-inch underwater pipeline belonging to Paria Fuel Trading Co Ltd when they were sucked into it. Only Boodram survived.
After the report is submitted to Kangaloo, it will be sent to the Cabinet, which will study it and determine the next step.
Based on correspondence that he received over the 16 months of the commission's work, Lynch said the world is waiting with bated breath for the report to be made public.
He said the commission was not pressured politically, financially or otherwise by any party in doing its job.
Lynch said the report "pulls no punches" in describing what the commission believes is an accurate account of the tragedy.
While different parties may be outraged, disappointed or wish to challenge the findings of the report, Lynch said everyone should set aside blame for a moment and remember that at the heart of this tragedy, four men died.
He lamented that no one saw fit to extend any ex-gratia payment to the families of the deceased divers or to the lone survivor Boodram as an act of kindness and human decency in the wake of the tragedy.
Responding to a question about this sent by Vanessa Kussie, Nagassar's widow, Lynch lamented he could not help her with that kind of relief.
"It is not within my gift to give."
The CoE was originally due to submit its report to the president in May. But in a statement on May 5 it said it had written to Kangaloo seeking an extension until August 31.
At a virtual news conference on September 6, Lynch apologised that the commission needed to extend the deadline again.
He said the delay was not the result of political or any other interference.
"I have decided that we will take a little more time and add additional safeguards to ensure fairness to all and limit the potential for any further litigation aimed at thwarting the legitimate aims of this inquiry."
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