PUBLIC Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales promised the final findings on the death of Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) employee Kern Ettienne will be made public.
Gonzales made this promise in the House of Representatives on Wednesday while responding to questions from Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh.
Ettienne, a craftsman, was buried alive in a trench at the Rienzi Kirton Highway near the Cross Crossing overpass in San Fernando on October 22. He and other workers were repairing a sewer line.
Gonzales said WASA and the Occupational Health and Safety Agency (OSHA) are doing separate investigations into the incident, so it would be premature of him to comment on their findings.
But he told MPs, "The findings of the (final) report will be made public, and if any negligence is found on the part of WASA, we will allow the chips to fall where they may."
Gonzales said it is standard operating practice for a safety officer to be present on all work sites, "including where work is being undertaken in open trenches."
In open trenches, he continued, there are protected systems which are inspected daily "to ensure there is compliance with the safety standards."
These standards, he said, are stringently enforced.
He added that he would not respond to what he described as comments from uninformed people in the media about ongoing investigations.
The post Gonzales: Findings on WASA employee's death will be made public appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.
