-says more than half of two-month reporting period gone
The Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) yesterday criticised the failure of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the MV Barima disaster to begin public hearings, noting that 33 days have elapsed since its members were sworn in and no hearing date or public invitation for witnesses has been announced.
In a statement, the party said the commission had also given no public indication that witnesses had been interviewed, documents secured or any substantive investigative milestone reached.
The commission was formally constituted on July 30 and, according to its instrument of appointment, is required to submit its report within two months unless President Irfaan Ali grants an extension. This would place its original reporting deadline at September 30.
“Thirty-three of the 62 calendar days between 30 July and 30 September have already elapsed,” FGM said. “More than half of the original reporting period is gone, and only 29 days remain before the stated deadline.”
Kiskadee Watch reported last week that CoI Secretary Javed Shadick said no commencement date had been fixed and the overseas-based commissioners had not indicated when they would arrive in Guyana.
Shadick said a venue had been identified but declined to disclose it. He added that the commissioners were developing rules and procedures for the hearings and that a public notice would be issued when the arrangements were finalised.
On August 13, Shadick had said the commission was reviewing the relevant constitutional and legal framework. Three days earlier, he described the work being done as “foundational” and confirmed that witnesses had not yet been approached and administrative arrangements were incomplete.
The five-member commission is chaired by former Belize Chief Justice Godfrey Phillip Smith. Its other members are forensic naval architect Dr Andrzej Jasionowski, Captain Hamada Fouda, Trinidad and Tobago attorney Nyree Dawn Alfonso and Rear Admiral Hayden Pritchard.
The inquiry was established following the July 18 capsizing and sinking of the MV Barima off the Essequibo Coast while it was travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma. At least 73 bodies were recovered, 77 people were rescued and others remain missing.
The vessel’s captain, chief mate and a Transport and Harbours Department goods superintendent have since been charged with murder. The wreck remains submerged and the government is pursuing a procurement process to select a specialist contractor to salvage it.
FGM yesterday compared the pace of the inquiry with that of the CoI into the March 2020 general and regional elections.
It said that within 35 days of the elections commission of inquiry being constituted, its secretariat had been staffed and the public invited to come forward as witnesses. Public hearings began within 51 days.
Smith was a commissioner on that inquiry, while Shadick also served as its secretary.
“Both officials know how to move a commission from appointment to public evidence. They have done it before,” FGM said. “The question is why the machinery that moved promptly for an inquiry into an election has been allowed to idle following the deadliest maritime disaster in Guyana’s history.”
The party, whose leader is Amanza Walton-Desir, argued that the inquiry did not have to await the salvage of the wreck or the conclusion of the criminal proceedings before interviewing survivors, crew members, former captains, inspectors and state officials.
It noted that the instrument establishing the commission permits physical, virtual and hybrid proceedings and provides for the chairman and any two commissioners to constitute a quorum.
FGM said the commission could immediately summon passenger manifests, maintenance records, inspection certificates, cargo and loading information, distress communications and search-and-rescue records.
It also called for interim reports and urgent safety recommendations, arguing that any defects in vessel inspection, maintenance, loading, passenger records, crew supervision, lifesaving equipment or emergency communications could still be present elsewhere in the ferry system.
The party said the public had not been told whether the commission had assessed continuing risks or issued any interim recommendation to the agencies responsible for ferry operations.
“If it has, the public should be told what recommendations were made and what action followed. If it has not, the commission must explain why,” the statement said.
FGM also questioned whether a separate marine safety investigation had been launched in accordance with international maritime standards.
It said a CoI was not automatically the marine safety investigation contemplated by the International Maritime Organization’s Casualty Investigation Code. According to the party, the government has not identified any separate investigation, its legal basis, the lead investigator or the evidence secured.
FGM called on Smith and Shadick to explain what has prevented the commission from fixing a hearing date. It also urged the President and Prime Minister Mark Phillips to say whether a separate marine safety investigation had commenced.
FGM said any such investigation should be independent of ministers and agencies whose actions or omissions could fall within its scope.
“The purpose of investigating this catastrophe is not only to explain how people died. It is to prevent more people from dying,” the statement added.
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