NiQuan report should be made public

THE EDITOR: News of the death of M. Ramkissoon, an employee of Massy Energy contracted to NiQuan was met with great bitterness but little surprise.

This tragedy is compounded by the response of the authorities which makes clear that the welfare of workers is not of much consequence.

On April 7, 2021, there was a massive explosion at the NiQuan plant which shook to their foundations houses in the Marabella area and had residents fearing for their lives.

Three authorised institutions were tasked with doing a root-cause analysis of that explosion. They were the Ministry of Energy, OSHA and the EMA. The ministry established a six-person technical team whose mandate was

Establish the facts of the incident; conduct a thorough investigation on contributing factors to determine the root cause(s) of the explosion; review the adequacy of existing controls and procedures; make recommendations which could reduce future risks and prevent recurrences; and prepare a final report which would be delivered to the Minister of Energy.

The Southern Marines Steelband Foundation took up the issue on behalf of residents and called for all reports pertaining to that explosion be published.

They also called for NiQuan and the authorised state agencies to consult with the people of Marabella through town meetings on all matters surrounding the reports and recommendations arising from them so the residents could be satisfied that the restarting of the plant does not pose a threat to the safety and security of residents, workers and visitors.

It was suggested that the plant not be re-started until these demands were met.

Of course the powers that be ignored the pleas of the residents and workers. The reports were never published, no consultation took place and the plant was restarted.

The minister’s response was that the reports could not be published because they contained confidential, proprietary information.

Government seemed more concerned with seeking the interests of the company’s shareholders than securing the citizens of this country.

In speaking about Mr Ramkissoon’s fatal accident, Dr Rowley said he could not guarantee the publishing of the investigative reports into that accident because Niquan is a private company.

So there you have it. Our government places the welfare of citizens below the interests of investors and shareholders.

The investigative reports into Mr Ramkissoon’s death should be published but this is unlikely to happen, given the track record of government in its dealing with NiQuan. That’s capitalism for you.

GERRY KANGALEE

Rambert Village