AS THE COUNTRY continues to process the horrific deaths of Lisa Morris-Julian and two of her children in a fire, an unsavoury, untimely and unproductive series of exchanges between Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales and fire service officials has broken out.
This has needlessly compounded the tragedy.
Too many questions attend the events of December 16.
It is only natural that officials try to answer these questions and to account to the population.
However, the highly unusual statement issued by Mr Gonzales mere hours after the tragedy leaves a lot to be desired.
As he paid lip service to “the tireless efforts of all emergency responders who have worked so hard in the wake of this tragedy,” he chastised this same class of officials by alleging the Fire Service had engaged in “gross and unfortunate misrepresentation” in a press release it published earlier.
Mr Gonzales rejected claims of water shortages at the site. He demanded a retraction, pointing to a conversation – at an unspecified time – between the Prime Minister and fire officials in Arima.
The minister’s intervention is remarkable.
In calling for the withdrawal of the statement, he leveraged his considerable influence to attempt to sway the actions of civil servants who are not under his jurisdiction, but those of a cabinet colleague.
The line ministry of the Fire Service is the Ministry of National Security. It is to Fitzgerald Hinds that Mr Gonzales should have channelled any real concerns.
Additionally, the haste with which the minister spoke is such that his statement referred to the fire beginning at 4.30 am – a full hour before all other accounts, including that of the police.
His assertion that “at no point during the incident was there a lack of water pressure or the availability of water in general” has also been contradicted by residents of the area.
It is also unclear whether there was enough time for the fullest information to reach top fire officials when it comes to reported representations to the PM.
In any event, the Fire Service, in its statement, did not isolate water as the sole factor.
Instead, it first pointed to its resources being spread thin, given three simultaneous fires – a matter that is worth equal consideration.
It then added, “A request was made for additional water supply due to a lack of water.”
Mr Gonzales may well have been acting out of grief. Still, he doth protest too much.
There is a great deal that must be unearthed relating to the circumstances before, during and after this week’s blaze.
Being caustic and confrontational over press releases while investigators continue to sift through the evidence – that makes it less likely forthright answers will flow.
And it paints a worrying picture of a cabinet inept at crisis communication.
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