Ramesh: Counsel to Paria enquiry not to blame for delay

COUNSEL to the commission of enquiry (CoE) into the Paria tragedy Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, has said neither the commissioners or counsel to the commission is responsible for any delay in completing its task.

At the opening of procedural hearings on Wednesday, commission chairman Jerome Lynch QC, expressed his frustration at drawbacks in setting up the infrastructure needed to hold the enquiry.

Lynch spoke about the absence of basic equipment such as desks, chairs, pens, paper, scanners, internet connection and administrative staff to sort through over 4,000 documents, which include witness statements, photographs, videos and other evidence.

As of September 5, Lynch said, only one secretary, Sarah Sinanan, was appointed to the commission’s team, asking how much could one lady do.

Bearing in mind that he is responsible for the CoE doing its job properly, Lynch appealed to the authorities to provide it with the tools for the task and prevent further delay to a matter which suffered setbacks when the first chairman resigned for personal reasons.

He also apologised for the delay to the families and friends of the four divers who lost their lives on February 25, vowing to make up for the lost time, in spite of the lack of resources.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Attorney General Reginald Armour, asked about the under-resourcing of the commission, referred the media to the Office of the President, which appointed the commissioners and Maharaj.

But in a statement, the Office of the President denied any responsibility for the financing or other resourcing of any aspect of the CoE.

Also in a statement on Thursday, Maharaj, who is assisted by attorneys Ronnie Bissessar and Vijaya Maharaj, clarified: “In light of statements published in the media, it is my duty in the public interest to make it clear that the commissioners and/or counsel to the commission do not have any responsibility to provide the CoE with the administrative infrastructure it requires to function in order for the commission to discharge its duties and responsibilities.

“I wish also to inform the public that the commissioners, counsel to the commission and the secretary of the commission made all the relevant applicants to the State for the commission to obtain the requisite administrative infrastructure for the commission to discharge its responsibilities.

“The chairman of the commission at the procedural hearing yesterday (Wednesday) made it clear that the commission, notwithstanding the time lost by the delay, intends to complete the evidential hearing of the commission by the month of December 2022 or for the latest, by early January 2023.

“This would be a record time for the completion of the evidential hearings by any CoE in Trinidad and Tobago,” Maharaj said.