A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) parliamentarians Juretha Fernandes and Ganesh Mahipaul have agreed to resume their work at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) alongside Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, reversing their earlier position of refusing to sit with the minister over concerns surrounding the MV Barima tragedy.
The APNU members had walked out of a PAC meeting recently, citing their discomfort with working alongside Edghill while questions remained over the capsizing of the vessel, the commencement of a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the tragedy and the awarding of a contract to salvage the vessel.
However, Mahipaul, explaining the change in position, told Kiskadee Watch yesterday at Parliament Building in Georgetown that developments since their initial decision had prompted them to allow the processes to move forward before making any further determination about Edghill’s suitability to continue serving alongside them on the PAC.
He said that when the opposition parliamentarians decided against sitting with the minister, the CoI had not yet commenced and the salvage contract had not been awarded. “At the time when we took that position, the Commission of Inquiry into the MV Barima tragedy did not commence. The contract for the salvaging was not awarded,” he explained.
Those outstanding matters had complicated their decision to continue working alongside Edghill, he shared, given the possibility that the anticipated processes might not materialise.
Since then, however, he said the opposition has observed progress on both fronts, with the CoI commencing its work and a contract being awarded to BK International for the salvage operation.
While acknowledging the developments, Mahipaul maintained that the opposition did not believe BK International was capable of carrying out the task. “But the fact that there has been movement to salvage the vessel and there has been movement to commence the Commission ofInquiry, we are now giving the space, we are now going to give the space for that to be concluded,” he said.
The APNU parliamentarians will therefore proceed with their work at the PAC while awaiting the conclusion of the two processes.
Mahipaul reminded, however, that their decision did not amount to an unconditional endorsement of Edghill or a withdrawal of their concerns about his continued presence in the National Assembly. Instead, he said a further decision would be taken after the CoI and the salvage operation had been completed and their respective reports were available for consideration.
“At the conclusion of both projects, which is the Commission of Inquiry and the salvaging of the vessel, a further decision will have to be taken based on those reports, whether we see Bishop Edghill still being competent to be in our company to sit in the National Assembly.”
The MV Barima capsized off Guyana’s coast while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, resulting in around 100 fatalities and prompting calls for accountability and a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the disaster.
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