00:00 If it is that they are not going to make an X-Ratio payment, let us know.
00:04 So we shall file immediately and proceed to the court where justice ultimately will result.
00:10 Back in January, Attorney-at-Law Prakash Ramadar suggested a $5 million X-Ratio payment
00:17 for each of the families of the divers who perished in the LMCS Paria pipeline disaster.
00:24 His comments then came after the Commission of Inquiry report into the incident was laid in Parliament,
00:30 a report that was highly critical of Paria.
00:34 Ramadar officially wrote the state entity on February 2nd with a 7-day deadline on the matter.
00:40 But he says more than three weeks later no decision has been made, nor has the company responded directly.
00:48 Of course, Paria's board will take advice from its lawyers, but respond as the board and not from its lawyers.
00:55 So that tells me that we are in troubled waters.
00:59 Because if these are the very lawyers who advise on the pre-action protocol that there is no liability,
01:05 turning a blind eye to the finding of the Commission of Inquiry,
01:09 and for what the nation itself has seen, the evidence has been laid bare for us all to have observed it with pain,
01:17 that we may very well have a situation where they will not, and I hazard to believe,
01:23 be making any X-Ratio payment, and I hope that I am wrong.
01:27 Ramadar represents families of two of the deceased divers, Faisal Qurban and Yusuf Henry.
01:33 He says he had committed to filing lawsuits against both LMCS and Paria before the two-year anniversary.
01:41 But that date has shifted, pending a clear response from Paria on whether or not X-Ratio payments would be made.
01:49 He adds, if a reasonable amount is agreed upon, it would bring an end to any future legal action.
01:56 Ramadar says if no word came by end of day, his next step would be to request the intervention of the Prime Minister and Minister of Energy.
02:06 Not to ask them to give a directive to Paria as to what decisions they should take.
02:14 Because the Prime Minister may very well be right, it is up to the Board to make decisions.
02:19 But that they must make a decision, one way or the other.
02:23 He believes the courts should be used as a last resort, and not as a first option.
02:29 And in a situation like this one, consideration should be given to what these families have been through,
02:35 and the overwhelming toll years of litigation could add.
02:40 I am confident beyond any doubt that we shall succeed in winning a judgment against Paria and LMCS.
02:50 But when, and at what cost to the state, and what we are saying, let's be real, let's be practical, let's be decent.
02:59 Should we not invest that money that would ultimately be spent now, and to make, not just, this is not just a financial need.
03:08 This is an emotional requirement, that some, you know, there's liability, accepted liability, the Commission has made its pronouncements.
03:17 But those who are responsible have not. And they cannot sit on it.
03:22 Cindy Raguban, Tika Singh, TV6 News.
03:26 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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