Rather than accepting responsibility for the deadly sinking of the state-owned MV Barima, the Government is attempting to shield senior officials by prosecuting frontline workers for murder, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) charged on Friday, calling for the resignation of Public Works Minister Juan Edghill and Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar.
The statement, read by APNU Leader Aubrey Norton, whose partnership holds 12 seats in the National Assembly, was delivered at a press conference where the opposition coalition argued that Captain Kevin Price, Chief Mate Rondel Roberts, and Goods Superintendent Delon Granderson were being turned into “scapegoats” for what it described as a catastrophic breakdown of a government-controlled maritime system.
“The Government cannot escape responsibility by charging workers with murder,” APNU declared.
The statement comes less than two weeks after the July 18 sinking of the state-owned MV Barima, which capsized while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma. The Government has maintained that 116 passengers and 17 crew members—133 persons in total—were on board. Survivors and relatives, however, have disputed that figure, insisting the actual number was higher.
The tragedy claimed 53 lives, while 76 survivors have been officially verified. One body remains trapped inside the wreck, which continues to rest on the seabed after the Government announced it would not raise the vessel. Families of victims, civil society groups and maritime experts have argued that recovering the ferry could provide critical evidence into the cause of the disaster. Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed has publicly offered to recover the wreck at no cost to taxpayers, but the Government has not accepted the proposal.
Against that backdrop, APNU argued that responsibility for the disaster begins at the highest levels of Government.
“The MV Barima was not a private vessel. It was a government-owned ferry managed by the Transport and Harbours Department under the Ministry of Public Works,” the coalition said.
“It is the Government that decided that the vessel remained in service even against the recommendations of the professional staff. The Government handles its maintenance, inspection, and certification and failed the people of Guyana.”
According to APNU, the Government also controlled the terminal operations, passenger system, cargo loading, vessel dispatch and operational management.
“The administration continued to send an 87-year-old vessel into open Atlantic waters while the infrastructure needed for its replacement remained unfinished. That was a government decision. The government bears responsibility for this tragedy.”
The coalition said admissions by Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips have only intensified concerns. Phillips disclosed that the ferry was carrying heavy government cargo and acknowledged there appeared to have been a breakdown in routine inspection procedures before the vessel departed.
“Government officials have been unable to provide a complete and convincing public account of all the cargo, its total weight, if they were properly loaded on the vessel, and whether there was a proper assessment of the vessel’s stability,” APNU said.
“These are not minor administrative matters. They go directly to the seaworthiness, loading, and stability of the vessel.”
Despite those unanswered questions, APNU said the State moved swiftly to charge the three crew members with murder before the Commission of Inquiry has heard evidence or determined the cause of the disaster.
“The instituting of these murder charges is ridiculous, vindictive, and intended to silence the workers.”
The coalition argued that murder requires proof of an intention to kill or its legal equivalent and maintained that nothing made public thus far demonstrates such intent.
“The government’s intention is to scapegoat the workers to relieve themselves from their responsibility and to protect its corrupt leadership.”
APNU further questioned why attention has not focused on those responsible for the vessel’s condition.
“It is known that the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) has acknowledged that the vessel’s navigational and safety systems were defective. The questions then are; who allowed a government vessel with defective systems to sail? Who certified it? Who supervised its maintenance? Who approved its cargo? Who dispatched it?”
The coalition said those decisions “fall squarely at the feet of the cabinet and its ministers.”
Referring to Attorney General Anil Nandlall’s description of the crew as “primary offenders,” APNU questioned whether there were also “secondary offenders.”
“The questions then should be: Who are the secondary offenders? Was criminal negligence the crime of the two Ministers, Edghill and Indar?”
Calling for both ministers to resign, APNU insisted accountability cannot stop with workers while policymakers remain untouched.
“The dead deserve the truth. The survivors deserve justice. The accused deserve due process, and Guyana deserves a government that accepts responsibility instead of manufacturing scapegoats and criminalising workers.”
