Govt. Has No Answers, Tobago Suffers: Tancoo Demands Action
The latest revelation by the Rowley-led Government concerning the abandoned overturned vessel in our territorial waters off Tobago’s South-West coast raises more questions than it has provided answers, says Oropouche West MP, Dave Tancoo.
Latest information states that the oil spill which was first identified on February 07, 2024, has now extended at least 118km to the northwest of Tobago, some 30km outside of our Exclusive Economic Zone, with media reports stating that Grenada has been put on alert for possible fallout from the disaster. The total length of the oil spill is 144km and growing.
According to Tancoo, while the Prime Minister and his Government have downplayed the entire disaster since the beginning, their utter incompetence has shone brightly throughout. In fact, the Prime Minister in his statement appears to ascribe responsibility to the THA and the Tobago Emergency Management Authority (TEMA) for addressing the marine disaster since its discovery on February 7th 2024. However, the disaster took place in Trinidad and Tobago waters, and it is in fact the absolute responsibility of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to treat with this event from the time of discovery.
“The Prime Minister cannot wash his hands of responsibility and claim that they are “helping” TEMA. He likes to remind us that he is Prime Minister of the entire country, but when it comes down to action to protect Tobago, Tobagonians and the environment of our sister isle, he stands back. That is negligence by the PM and by the Government at this critical time and is completely unacceptable” says Tancoo.
The THA Chief Secretary registered some very pertinent questions in the public domain, especially based on the lack of information from all agencies and authorities that ought to have been providing the public with regular updates. However, the Prime Minister today sought to use the Parliament’s time to dispense allegations saying that there was “no hint of any cover up”. Tancoo notes however that, “the Prime Minister’s statement also presented some frightening facts – he openly admitted that after 10 days, the Government and all of its agencies have no information about the name of the barge, its origins, its destination, its registration or even the DNA of the substance currently polluting the shores and reefs of Tobago, that is now extending into the territorial waters of other Caribbean countries. The Prime Minister’s statements provide no hint of any new information or any movement towards containing and cauterizing the leak.”
The Oropouche West MP states “The inability or failure of the Government to provide any information and any comfort to Tobagonians and Trinidadians as well, that the environment crisis has been contained or that there was any hope of a resolution is surprising and disappointing. This is despite the open boast by the Minister of Energy that the Government was doing all it could. This too is unacceptable.”
It is noteworthy as well, that neither the Prime Minister nor the Minister of Energy in their comments to the Nation in the Parliament, made mention of the security gaps that facilitated the entry of this barge and tug into our waters, undiscovered. Equally worrying was the Prime Minister’s revelation and comfort to the effect that there is no law that requires vessels travelling through Trinidad and Tobago waters to notify any security or maritime agency of their presence.
Tancoo noted that, “the Government continuously boasts of a 360 degree radar, the purpose of which is to ensure that marine craft are tracked, and that security services are aware of what vessels are in our waters and what they are doing; whether there was illegal bunkering, illegal trawling, drug, gun or human trafficking. The Prime Minister’s comfort in ignorance is the very reason why the borders of this country have remained porous and again, this is unacceptable.”
Since the oil spill began, Tobago fisherfolk have grounded all fishing activity and are now also raising questions about their livelihood. Further, many of the island’s tourism-based activities and small businesses have already been adversely impacted by the disaster.
The Oropouche West MP adamantly stated that, “The Prime Minister cannot wash his hands of blame and responsibility to deal with any oil/fuel spill in our Nation’s waters. To do so confirms negligence at the highest level of government. The fact that the Government has allowed this disaster to now turn into an international matter speaks volumes about their effectiveness as a Government.”