Mainstream media is reporting this week on the continuing plight of the fisher folk affected by the oil spill of February last year. We provided some background on that unfortunate event, airing at the same time our misgivings about compensation whether for loss of livelihood, lifestyle or to Tobago’s natural space.
We’d want to take the fisher folk at their word if only because the odds was always against them getting the money they felt was due. That they ended up blaming the Tobago House of Assembly is also regrettable but it could have been avoided had the Chief Secretary read the politics properly.
Here’s our thoughts on why the dice was loaded on that International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPC) payout. If we recall, Energy Minister at the time - Stuart Young announced that the IOPC fund would cover expenses incurred as result of the incident, and government (meaning central government, not the quasi-government arm running Tobago) would foot the bill for the service providers cleaning up the spill.
Around that same time THA Chief Secretary the Farley Augustine - attempting to cosy up to Tobago fisher folk, took to berating central government for their tardiness in paying, took too to cussing about government’s unwillingness to divulge how much compensation they actually got from the IOPC.
Further, Mr Augustine likely believing the IOPC fund would reach Tobago pockets as a matter of process, gambled that he could crack the whip against Minister Young and the Trinidad based administration while he makes nice on TV with the oil-soaked group. History shows the Chief of Tobago was wrong on both counts.
On the less posh side, the fisher folk, unable by and large to substantiate their claims were forced to ‘suck salt’ while an away group of bona-fide service providers walked away with millions. Today’s outburst would have hit Farley hard. His own people are saying he lied about giving them a stipend to carry over until the IOPC money arrived.
Farley’s problem seems to be two-fold. He trusted ‘process’ - obviously skip reading, or choosing to misunderstand the IOPC will pay only a government of the nation, not a quasi-government arm as is the Tobago House of Assembly. Does this make young Augustine a victim of his own hubris? Only he could know.
Upshot
Environment Tobago’s view in all of this remains thus: The Lambeau community is a victim of a form of environmental injustice perpetrated by both the transporter of the bunker fuel and the Trinidad and Tobago (our own) government. The policy of the T&T oil spill management plan clearly states certain arrangements need to be in place in all matters upstream oil and gas. Which would mean adequate security for our natural environment and the people who live and work therein. In short, the focus of the oil spill plan was always about the citizenry - wherever found.
In our eyes, reasonable compensation should go first to the local (affected) community - even if their paperwork is scrappy. And if government has to find money to pay bespoke cleanup service providers they should do so separately, aside of what goes to the community.
We would argue too the money must come from the State, not the IOPC - since it’s locally owned and produced oil that fuels our economic base and we would have planned for something like this quite early in the day. In other words the IOPC relationship with State (the government) ought not to absolve our administration’s duty to the population.
Figure 1: Spill viewed from space. Photo - Courtesy ESA
In closing we ought not to forget facts and high probability. Oil and gas is being sourced all around Trinidad and Tobago. There is Venezuela, there is Guyana and there is Suriname. Should an untoward event delivered from those fields ever hit our shores, which community in T&T would want to be treated like Lambeau? Upon which community will we want to project such grave environmental injustice?
Interested in this case? Review our coverage which began here.