HGP Nightly News – Transparency International Guyana Inc. has rejected the prospect of a government-controlled investigation into the MV Barima tragedy, arguing that state officials and agencies whose conduct may come under scrutiny cannot credibly oversee the inquiry themselves.
The watchdog is calling instead for an independent international investigation led by the International Maritime Organization and staffed by maritime experts with no institutional stake in its outcome.
TIGI also wants international civil-society organisations operating in Guyana appointed as members of the investigative body, not merely invited to observe its work.
The government has promised a full and independent Commission of Inquiry but has not yet published its membership or complete terms of reference.
TIGI said another domestically controlled process would struggle to win the confidence of families or the wider public.
Executive member Frederick Collins said Guyanese had no appetite for an inquiry that could collapse into what he described as a “circus maximus.”
The organisation demanded the recusal of Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, Public Utilities and Aviation Minister Deodat Indar and MARAD’s senior management from any role in supervising the investigation.
According to TIGI, the inquiry may have to examine decisions taken by their ministries and agencies, creating an unavoidable conflict if they retain influence over the process.
“If President Ali is sincere about the transparency and accountability he has personally promised the families of the deceased, this is the minimum test of that sincerity,” TIGI said.
The organisation cited the failure of the MV Barima’s passenger manifest as one of the clearest reasons an independent investigation is needed.
Initial records reportedly listed 116 passengers and 17 crew members. The estimated total aboard was later revised to 179 after officials reviewed surveillance footage and gathered additional information.
Those discrepancies prevented authorities from knowing precisely how many people were missing during the early stages of the search.
TIGI described the situation as alleged “manifest fraud” and called for a full public accounting of how unlisted passengers were allowed aboard, who authorised them and what enforcement action would follow.
No official finding has established fraud. Government officials have acknowledged a breakdown in passenger registration, while Edghill has said the presence of unlisted passengers could amount to criminal conduct.
The vessel’s captain and a Transport and Harbours Department loading superintendent have been detained as part of the police investigation. Neither had been charged when the detentions were announced.
TIGI said the inquiry must extend beyond those directly involved in loading and operating the ferry. It should also scrutinise maintenance, certification, regulatory supervision and decisions made at senior administrative and ministerial levels.
The watchdog warned against repeating what it described as the failed accountability model that followed the May 2023 Mahdia Secondary School dormitory fire, which killed 20 children, most of them Indigenous girls.
A presidential Commission of Inquiry examined that tragedy, but some bereaved families subsequently entered prolonged litigation with the state over compensation arrangements.
TIGI argued that the process did not deliver the justice families expected and instead left some of them fighting the government in court.
“No one is prepared to watch that repeat,” Collins said.
The organisation also criticised what it described as inconsistent public statements from Indar about whether the ferry was overloaded and whether criminal conduct may have occurred.
A minister should not publicly prejudge disputed facts and then participate in overseeing the investigation intended to establish them, TIGI argued.
It said the same concern applied to MARAD because the agency’s inspection, certification and regulation of the MV Barima could form part of the inquiry.
TIGI also raised questions about the arrest of Opposition MP Sherod Duncan at Charity while he was reportedly using a drone to document the recovery operation.
Authorities have since warned that unauthorised drones pose a danger to aircraft conducting low-altitude searches. TIGI nevertheless said the government should clearly explain any restrictions placed on journalists, politicians and members of the public documenting the response.
The group maintained that Guyana’s institutions had exhausted much of the public’s trust and that international involvement was now necessary to provide families with credible answers.
