When a full account of the MV Barima disaster is compiled, a central chapter will revolve around the Port Kaituma stelling that has remained unfinished and has been mired in poor designing and the clear absence of adequate geotechnical studies.
Had the Port Kaituma stelling been completed as was expected in 2024, a newer vessel, the MV Ma Lisha would have been doing the bulk of the ocean travels and the then 85-year-old MV Barima could have been finally decommissioned. Instead this aged vessel with a plethora of defects which are only now coming to wider public attention was made to continue this fraught journey on the Atlantic. On the night of July 18 the worst occurred and around 100 lives were lost and incalculable and longterm trauma caused to hundreds of families when the MV Barima capsized.
Still, the government is yet to provide a proper accounting for what will have to be described as a failed project which would usually attract dismissal, fines and lawsuits. There has been utter silence on this score even as the wails of the bereaved and traumatized can be heard plaintively as there can be no masking of this grief.
Masking is however what the PPP/C government and its contractor friends forever seek no matter how egregious their failings. President Ali has already shown his hand. Asked at his last press conference about ministerial accountability, the President sought refuge in the hypocrisy that he didn’t want to pre-empt the work of the Commission of Inquiry which itself faces daunting questions and which is taking its own sweet time to get started.
In his Youman Nabi address yesterday, the President continued his line of deflection. Without referring specifically to the MV Barima tragedy, he pontificated: “Seek truth, but without fury. Pursue justice, but without malice. Correct what is broken, but without vengeance, and do not engage in a reckless assignment of blame before the facts are known”.
It remains the case that the removal of the subject ministers for transportation is completely separate from the work of the CoI. The removals would accord with the tenets of ministerial accountability and would not have in any way impacted on the work of the CoI. Indeed, as pointed out before, their continued presence in their portfolios can have undue influence on the inquiry and potentially intimidate witnesses who are under their control.
As it relates to the Port Kaituma stelling, President Ali must do his utmost to ensure that notwithstanding the work of the CoI a comprehensive update is provided to Parliament and the public about this projects.
What is its current state at the moment? Will it be abandoned and a stelling constructed at a different site? What penalty if any was there for the admitted improper design of the stelling which led to fissures opening up? Why wasn’t the designer dismissed at that point and sued? Is the contractor still on the job and have any penalties been assigned to the contractor? Were geotechnical studies done of the area where the stelling is being built? What is the current cost to the economy of this project?
Too many of these large public sector projects have been afflicted by defects that speak to haphazard planning, the country’s poor absorptive capacity, the absence of lettered builders, inadequate supervision and little accountability for delays and shoddy work. This has been a prominent thread in PPP/C governments from Jagdeo to Ali. This malady must be remedied. An excellent starting point is full disclosure on the Port Kaituma stelling project. The families of the MV Barima victims would surely like answers.
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