A Judge will ultimately decide on the way forward for the payment of compensation to the victims of the Paria Diving tragedy.
This from lead Counsel Prakash Ramadhar, who told the media following discussions with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, this was determined to be the best option.
00:00With the $1 million ex-gratia payment promised by the PNM government failing to materialize before the general election,
00:08the UNC-led government has proposed an alternate solution for the payment of compensation to the victims and beneficiaries of the Paria diving tragedy, a judicial conference.
00:20A mediation process and that they make suggestions to both sides. You put all that you have before the judge. The judge makes a suggestion on either or both sides can agree to it or disagree.
00:32And if you could reach an agreement before that, then there's something akin to a court order. And therefore, the level of oversight is from a judicial authority.
00:43The $1 million payment was promised by former Prime Minister Stuart Young on the eve of the general election.
00:52However, lead counsel Prakash Ramada maintains that the affected deserve much more.
00:58I'm grateful for the commission, yes. A lot of troops came out that most people did not anticipate.
01:04But when lawyers' fees go into tens of millions of dollars, think about that for a minute.
01:10And it is reputed at one lawyer, 8.4 million. Right? One lawyer.
01:15Where is the justice in society? Think about that for a minute. Right? And all that. And the families are looking on.
01:21The UNC-led government has committed to settling with the victims' families some three-plus years after the tragic incident.
01:30However, the Prime Minister has also warned that the Treasury is empty.
01:34I keep hearing about the shortage of dollars in our Treasury. Absolutely correct.
01:41But this is a multi-billion-dollar economy.
01:45And I know the present government has indicated that we will be creating new streams of income, which is a must-do for our society.
01:56And in the largest scheme of things, 5 million or 20 million for something as awful as this, I am sure they will be able to source the funds for that.
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