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Private Co will remove bodies
13/09/2005 20:48 - (SA)
Baton Rouge - Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco on Tuesday angrily accused the federal government of not moving fast enough to recover bodies of those killed by Hurricane Katrina and said the state would hire a contractor to do the work.
"No one, it seems, even those at the highest level, seems to be able to break through the bureaucracy," an angry Blanco told reporters at a briefing here.
She said she had pleaded with federal officials including homeland security chief Michael Chertoff to issue a contract to Texas-based disaster management company Kenyon International, which is currently working without a contract.
Chertoff assured her a week ago that they had a system of recovery in place, but Kenyon said on Monday it would pull out if the contract issue was not resolved, she said.
"In death as in life, our people have deserved better than they have received," Blanco said, adding that Louisiana will hire the company itself. "I cannot bear to wait any longer."
- AFP
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