PM Slams Penner Over “Reckless” Explosives Operation

Strong words tonight from Prime Minister John Briceño, who is accusing former minister Elvin Penner of acting recklessly during a dangerous explosives operation. Briceño says, based on BDF reports and video evidence, Penner put lives at risk, warning that a small misstep could have triggered a deadly explosion. Penner, however, argues that sparks from the detonations may have contributed to nearby fires. But the Prime Minister says that doesn’t change the bottom line. He insists the activity was dangerous, poorly coordinated, and could have led to serious loss of life. Now, he’s calling for tighter oversight, making it clear that any future operations like this must involve all key agencies to prevent a disaster.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I think that Elvin Penner from what we have seen with the videos and what we are told, was reckless. What I was told by the BDF is that if he would have travelled some miles down that could have exploded and he would have been dead. And he should have known better.”

 

Reporter

“I talked to Mr. Penner and one of his arguments was that the sparks that were letting out while they were detonating bombs started a fire.”

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I can’t really comment but just to say that one of the discussions we had on the forest fires and Minister Habet brought it up is that whenever we are going to do such action we have to ensure that all the different ministries are present, the Department of Environment, NEMO, fire department, BDF, everyone necessary to make sure these things don’t happen. Sometimes you plan and they are telling you there is going to be no wind and all of a sudden the wind comes. There is always room for improvement. But it does not remove the fact or negate that what Mr. Penner did to remove things. This was dangerous and could have created havoc and killed a lot of people.”

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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