The People's Partnership Government is being blamed for the delay in awarding Peter and Murium Green compensation for their injuries suffered in a cutlass attack at their home in Bacolet Gardens, Tobago, on August 1, 2009. The Greens had applied for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act No 21 of 1999, well within the legal limit of one year of the incident and have been trying to get it, even blaming THA chief secretary Orville London for the delay.
Senior State Counsel in the Office of the Chief Secretary, Alvin Pascall, the THA's outgoing director on the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board established under the act, told reporters on Thursday that the law was proclaimed in October 2000 and the first board was appointed on June 23, 2006. He said the board met several times and awarded compensation totalling millions of dollars to scores of people.
Pascall was speaking at the end of a two-hour meeting of THA officials, including Chief Secretary Orville London, Tourism and Transportation Secretary Oswald Williams and executive members of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association (THTA) at the Tourism Division conference room. The meeting was called to take decisions on urgent issues affecting the tourism industry in Tobago. Pascall said that after the May 24 general election, the board, like other government-appointed boards, went out of existence.
He said the seven-member Criminal Injuries Compensation Board was still to be appointed. According to Pascall, the applications by the Greens were "sitting there awaiting the appointment of a board." He made it clear that the maximum compensation which can be awarded under the present act was $25,000, but a recommendation was made in November 2009 for an amendment to be made to the legislation to increase this figure to $50,000.
He added that the line minister could vary the board's award. Pascall revealed that early last year, the board had planned to set up an office in Tobago and was finalising a site, at the time of the election.