By Milton Paul
GEORGETOWN, Guyana – In a move that has left victims and safety advocates stunned, Massy Gas Products (Guyana) Ltd. has been awarded the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) Award for Continuous Improvement in the Large Manufacturing Sector, even as a trail of devastating gas cylinder explosions linked to its products has left a path of destruction, critical injuries, and shattered lives.
The company proudly announced the honour in a press release this week, with Assistant Vice President, Commercial, Hekima Paul, accepting the award on behalf of what the company called its “unwavering commitment to quality, safety, and operational excellence.”
For victims like Basmattie Ganpat and Manu “Paul” Sukhu, that “commitment to safety” rings hollow. The couple who were both rushed to hospital with critical burns after a Massy gas bottle exploded in their Foulis, East Coast Demerara home, reducing their newly renovated house to a twisted, uninhabitable ruin.
The company’s celebratory statement stands in jarring contrast to the scene described by the couple’s daughter, Sandhya Goolram. “The walls of the lower flat were blown out, the roof and flooring of the upper flat were ripped off… The whole house and everything were destroyed,” she told the Guyana Times. The family, now destitute, is using wooden props to prevent what remains of the house from collapsing.
According to Goolram, her mother had smelled gas even though the bottle was turned off. “When she lit the stove, the entire bottle exploded,” she recounted. Despite this, the family claims a Massy representative visited the site and, after a preliminary look, declared the bottle “in perfect condition.”
This pattern of denial in the face of catastrophe is became a familiar refrain for Massy Gas customers.
A Growing List of Incidents, A Consistent Pattern of Response
The Ganpat-Sukhu explosion was not an isolated incident. It was only the latest in a series of alarming accidents involving Massy cylinders that have sparked public fear and calls for accountability:
· In August, a gas cylinder explosion at Jaiwantie Samaroo’s Herstelling grocery shop left her with third-degree burns and destroyed her livelihood.
· In November, Necolece Alexander of Better Hope narrowly escaped more serious injury when a cylinder exploded while she was cooking, causing property damage and minor burns.
· In December, a cylinder at the Little Abary home of Murtland Wills and Oneka Williams exploded, causing over $1.5 million in damages. Despite video and inspection evidence pointing to a defective cylinder, Massy representatives allegedly denied responsibility.
In each case, the company’s public response has been to issue statements emphasizing its ISO certification and “robust” safety systems, while often shifting blame to customers’ equipment—such as old regulators or hoses—after the fact.
The GNBS award for “Continuous Improvement” raises urgent questions about the metrics used for such honours. Is the award based on internal company processes, while the tangible, devastating outcomes for consumers are ignored?
While Massy has launched social media campaigns urging customers to inspect their equipment, victims and their families are left to question how a company presiding over a series of violent explosions can be simultaneously recognized for its “safety” and “operational excellence.”
Victims and their families are left with nothing but questions, medical bills, and the charred remnants of a life they once had; a stark reality that no corporate award can ever erase.
