MSJ head: Make OSHA’s report on diving disaster public

LEADER of the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) David Abdulah wants the outcome of the Occupational Safety and Health Authority's (OSHA) investigation into the Paria diving disaster be made public.

He demanded that Government "fully resource" the agency so it can do "a thorough and transparent investigation."

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Abdulah recalled that OSHA and other organisations completed an investigation into the April 7, 2021, blast at NiQuan Energy Ltd’s gas-to-liquids plants in Pointe-a-Pierre but to date, he added, the findings have not been made public.

"We want to know what happened in NiQuan as well. Nothing was revealed about that," Abdulah said.

"OSHA must not be secretive. They have to be public and the evidence that OSHA gathers (on the Paria tragedy) must be submitted to the commission of enquiry."

Government established the enquiry into the February 25 tragedy in which four divers died while doing maintenance work near the Paria Fuel Trading Company in Pointe-a-Pierre. OSHA is also conducting its own investigation into the incident.

Abdulah said, "We need for the OSHA investigation to proceed unrestricted and unfettered, free from interference or coverup. Whether real or perceived, that must happen if full transparency is in place, those people should have stepped down.

The four workers of LMCS, a private contractor, were sucked into a 30-inch pipeline while doing maintenance work on Berth 6. The company was contracted by Paria. The four deceased people are Kazim Ali Jr, Fyzal Kurban, Rishi Nagassar, and Yusuf Henry. Another co-worker Christopher Boodram was rescued and is the lone survivor.

The MSJ leader also had harsh words for Prime Minister Dr Rowley and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

He described Rowley as a "stumbling and bumbling" prime minister. He also accused the PM of taking the country down the road of barbarism.

Abdulah also criticised Persad-Bissessar, saying neither she nor her UNC party can solve TT’s issues. He accused her of engaging in "scorched earth policy."

The MSJ leader also hit the closure of Petrotrin’s Point-a-Pierre refinery in 2018. He said many people were put into difficult circumstances and still cannot find work to care for their families properly, almost four years after the closure.