HGP NIGHTLY NEWS – With public hearings into the deadly MV Barima tragedy set to begin next week, only one of the 76 survivors has so far contacted the Commission of Inquiry indicating an intention to give evidence.
Secretary to the Commission Javed Shadick disclosed the low response during a press conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Tuesday, just over a week before public hearings are scheduled to begin on October 14.
“Not many persons have come forward. In fact, only one person has made contact with the secretariat informing us of their intent to step forward,” Shadick said.
Despite the limited response from survivors so far, the Commission estimates that more than 100 witnesses could eventually appear during the inquiry. Those witnesses are expected to include survivors, relatives of persons who died, first responders and officials connected to the vessel and the response to the tragedy.
Before evidence is formally taken, the five-member Commission, chaired by Belizean Justice Godfrey Phillip Smith, will begin a series of engagements and site visits.
The Commissioners are expected to meet survivors and relatives of victims from Regions Three, Four and Five before visiting the Kingston Wharf, the Maritime Administration Department and the Transport and Harbours Department.
They are also scheduled to travel to Mabaruma and Port Kaituma next Monday and Tuesday to inspect wharves and meet families and survivors. Shadick stressed that those engagements will not be used to take evidence.
Formal testimony will only be received when public hearings begin on October 14. The Commission will determine, based on the number of witnesses willing to participate, whether hearings will also be held in Port Kaituma and Mabaruma, where many of the victims and survivors were from.
Attorneys Arudranauth Gossai and Teni Housty, who are serving as counsel to the Commission, have meanwhile been interviewing potential witnesses and gathering documentary evidence.
The inquiry is mandated to reconstruct the sequence of events surrounding the July 18 sinking and determine its immediate, contributing and systemic causes.
It is also expected to examine whether negligence, misconduct, dereliction of duty, institutional failures or other acts and omissions contributed to the disaster or affected the
More than 100 people died when the MV Barima sank on July 18 while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma. Seventy-six people survived.
