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.
02:10Renasa Cutting, TV6 News.
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