00:00Within the next few weeks, Energy Minister Stuart Young will lead a team to the International
00:06Oil Pollution Compensation Fund to allow follow-up on the processing of claims made with respect
00:13to the oil spill off the coast of Cove in Tobago.
00:16The state has reached out to and succeeded in its request to a body called the IOPC,
00:24which is an international body that deals with oil spills.
00:27They have acceded to our submission that Trinidad and Tobago, and in particular the
00:31oil spill in Tobago, should fall within that IOPC fund.
00:36And they have accepted, the whole body, and agreed, and it is an order of the IOPC, that
00:42the government's legitimate and reasonable expenditure will be reimbursed by the IOPC.
00:48And that, of course, includes claims from Tobago and the THA.
00:53Young told today's Standing Finance Committee that oil is in order and taxpayers can expect
00:58to receive reimbursements.
01:00And Fisherman, you've been put on notice, you can submit individual claims.
01:06The IOPC has appointed a claims manager in Trinidad, that claims manager's representatives
01:13went to Tobago.
01:15I believe it may have also been in collaboration with, or at least the consent of, members
01:20of the THA, and they have indicated to the Fisherman the process, because the Fisherman
01:27may also be able to make their own independent claims, independent of the THA and the government.
01:33When questioned on how many unmet claims were made by Fisherman for compensation, and how
01:39many remain outstanding, the Finance Minister abdicated himself from any such responsibility.
01:45It is not for me to say whether they are outstanding claims or not.
01:49I have to receive that information from the THA, and I have not yet received the documentation
01:55that I asked for from the Finance Secretary with respect to additional claims that were
02:01not covered by the 50 million.
02:03What I would also say, I saw complaints in Tobago from certain Fisherman groups that
02:10said, look, they didn't receive any money.
02:12That is not our responsibility.
02:14We sent the THA 50 million.
02:16It's up to the THA to decide what to do with that 50 million.
02:20The committee spent the morning reviewing the monies allocated to the Tobago House of
02:24Assembly.
02:25The Finance Minister said his ministry is looking at how the Trinidad and Tobago Revenue
02:30Authority will operate in Tobago as it relates to revenue collection.
02:36It is presently done, he says, by Customs and the Inland Authority.
02:40We are looking at it now to see how to rationalise it because the fifth schedule indicates that
02:47revenue collection in Tobago should be done by the THA.
02:51So we are looking at it to see how to rationalise it so it's consistent with the revenue loans.
02:57We haven't reached a final conclusion yet.
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