Protest as a result of contaminated water at La Misère |27 September 2019

The La Misère residents milling about outside the Liberty House yesterday

‘We do not want tax payers’ money!’

Some residents of La Misère joined in a protest march yesterday to show their discontentment after Finance, Trade, Investment and Economic Planning Minister Maurice Loustau-Lalanne said in the National Assembly on Wednesday that tax payers’ money will be used to pay for their compensation.

Some 50 residents were seen with banners with protest signs like ‘Nou larzan taks pa pou ganny servi pour pey delo kaka Khalifa’ and ‘Nou fatige espere’.

Senior citizens, young adults and even a child joined in the protest march that started at La Misère at the entrance of Sheikh Khalifa’s residence to town. Arriving in town at around 11am, the police who were present blocked the way towards the State House and the group ended up going to Liberty House in the hope to see Minister Loustau-Lalanne

The spokesperson of the residents, Eddie Westergreen, narrated what happened: “The problem started on October 15, 2009 when there was diesel in the river. After that there were faeces in the river. I came up here personally, I walked through here (the Khalifa property) where the problem started where the tank was and the gas released the diesel into the river. When I continued walking up there, where the tracking station was, I saw with my own eyes, human faeces coming down the river. At that time in 2009, I had a small Erikson phone so I went home to get my camera and then they told me I was not allowed back. From there, I called Joel Morgan, the then Minister for Environment. For two weeks I tried to get hold of the minister to talk about the problem and the president was way too busy, and I didn’t have God’s phone number!,” said Mr Westergreen.

He added: “So after two weeks, I got hold of the secretary of the then environment minister to whom I said a few words that shook her up. From there, Mr Morgan called me to find out about the issue. I told him that the people of La Misère were drinking diesel in the water and there were also human faeces in the river. That night I wrote a letter to him and delivered it to his office. On October 20, 2009 he replied with a small note: Acknowledged and the authority will take care of it! Four months later, on February 14, 2010, Nicholas Prea called me to warn me about the water and not to consume it. I told him I have been drinking bottled water since 2009 because I know what is going on.

“Since then, I have a feeling that they have a grudge against me as I am a supporter of the opposition. For me this issue is not about politics, it is about the people living in La Misère. That’s what happened.

“The whole population of La Misère drank water that was contaminated with human faeces, the farms got affected and the people who used the water directly also got affected and they claim to still be facing medical complications from the contamination.”

“When we had a protest at La Misère, they called Nicholas Prea for a meeting at the State House. More than 50% of us said no but Nicholas tried to be diplomatic and convinced us to attend the meeting. Ten of us attended the meeting where former President (James) Michel asked the then minister for environment to deal with the situation. Enough is enough and it’s been almost 11 years and we are still waiting. We get only promises but no action is taken. After what we heard yesterday (on Wednesday) in the parliament, they will be using tax payers’ money to compensate us for somebody else’s fault. We do not agree. We are against that as it is likely I am paying my own self. I would understand when there is compensation like the national fungus issue but this one is not a fault of the state! If Khalifa said he gave the money, we want to see proof of this transaction! When we had the first meeting with the government, the sum decided was R675,000 per head for adults and R350,000 for children under-18 years old. The committee was then dissolved and from there it went down to R250,000 per family. When I signed the paper I protested and I wanted to know what I was signing and where the money comes from. But nothing of that sort happened. We used that money to change all the pipes in our houses. We need to find out where the money has gone, added Mr Westergreen.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance, Trade, Investment and Economic Planning has said in a communiqué released yesterday afternoon that the meeting proposed in a matter of privilege, yesterday afternoon by member of the National Assembly for Grand Anse Mahé, Waven William, pertaining to the La Misère situation, has been scheduled for Saturday October 5, 2019.

The time and venue will be confirmed later.

The communiqué adds that this follows discussions and debates with residents affected by the contaminated water at La Misère, regarding the urgent question by Mr William on Wednesday in the National Assembly to Minister Loustau-Lalanne.

The proposed meeting will be held with representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Attorney General’s Office, and the La Misère appointed committee for the residents who have been affected by the contaminated water.

The meeting has been scheduled for Saturday October 5, upon the return of the Attorney General in the country.