WIN and some opposition parties yesterday said they will seek an urgent debate in the National Assembly on the sinking of the MV Barima and will table a no-confidence motion against Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill and Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation Deodat Indar, who has responsibility for the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD).
In a joint statement, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), Forward Guyana Movement (FGM), Alliance For Change (AFC) and the Vigilant Political Action Committee (VPAC) said they would submit a notice under Standing Order No. 12 requesting that the matter be treated as one of urgent public importance and brought before the House at the earliest opportunity.
Missing from the grouping is A Partnership of National unity (APNU) whose parliamentary leader. Dr Terrence Campbell, has submitted a separate motion to be considered by the National Assembly.
The parties said the loss of lives, the suffering of survivors and the anguish experienced by families across Guyana demanded immediate parliamentary attention and raised serious questions about maritime safety, regulatory oversight, vessel operations, emergency preparedness and the systems in place to protect citizens who depend on public transportation. They said Guyanese deserved answers, accountability and meaningful action.
According to the statement, the first motion seeks a vote of no confidence in Edghill and Indar over what it describes as failures of ministerial oversight, responsibility and leadership in relation to the circumstances surrounding the MV Barima tragedy and Guyana’s wider maritime safety framework.
The proposed motion states that serious questions have arisen regarding the oversight, maintenance, inspection, seaworthiness, operational safety, emergency preparedness, regulatory compliance and enforcement of standards applicable to the MV Barima and the agencies responsible for maritime transport. It also contends that public confidence in the government’s management of maritime safety has been significantly undermined.
The opposition said ministerial responsibility is a fundamental principle of democratic governance and argued that where systems under ministerial oversight fail and public confidence is lost, accountability should follow. It also maintained that the continued occupancy of office by ministers with responsibility for the relevant agencies raised legitimate concerns about the preservation, protection and accessibility of documents, communications, maintenance records, inspection reports and other evidence required to establish the facts surrounding the tragedy.
Undue influence
The statement stressed that this was “not a presumption of wrongdoing by any individual” but rather a safeguard intended to ensure public confidence that evidence would be preserved without interference, alteration, delay or any perception of undue influence.
The motion calls on the National Assembly to express no confidence in Edghill and Indar for what it describes as their failure to provide effective ministerial oversight and leadership in relation to Guyana’s maritime transport system and the circumstances surrounding the sinking, and urges both ministers to resign in keeping with the principles of accountability, transparency and good governance.
The motion is to be tabled by Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed and FGM Leader Amanza Walton-Desir.
The Joint Opposition also announced plans to table a second motion calling for an independent marine safety investigation into the sinking of the MV Barima. The motion argues that the incident constitutes a “very serious marine casualty” under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), to which Guyana acceded in 1997, thereby triggering obligations under Chapter XI-1, Regulation 6 of the convention and the mandatory Casualty Investigation Code.
According to the proposed motion, the purpose of such an investigation would be to establish the circumstances and causes of the sinking, identify the human, technical, operational, organisational and regulatory factors that contributed to it, and make recommendations to prevent similar incidents. It notes that a marine safety investigation would be separate from any criminal investigation, disciplinary proceedings, civil proceedings or any Commission of Inquiry that may subsequently be established.
The motion further urges the government to immediately commence an independent investigation, seek technical assistance from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), appoint suitably qualified marine safety investigators, ensure that all relevant evidence is preserved and publish the final investigation report together with its recommendations.
The second motion is sponsored by Walton-Desir and Shadow Minister of Public Works Janelle Sweatnam.
The Joint Opposition called on all members of the National Assembly to support urgent consideration of the matter, which it described as one of national importance involving the safety and lives of Guyanese citizens. It said it remained committed to standing with the victims, survivors and their families while pursuing reforms aimed at preventing a recurrence of such a tragedy.
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