Fifteen days after the Government closed its call for Expressions of Interest from companies seeking to salvage the sunken MV Barima, Opposition Member of Parliament Ganesh Mahipaul is demanding answers about what has happened to the process.
The Expression of Interest was launched on August 1 and closed on August 14, but Mahipaul says the Government has yet to tell the public how many companies submitted proposals, how many satisfied the evaluation requirements, or whether a salvage contractor has been selected.
The A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) parliamentarian said he has formally written to the Minister responsible for Public Utilities and Aviation seeking the information but has received no response.
The questions come against the backdrop of one of Guyana’s deadliest maritime disasters. The MV Barima sank on July 18 while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, Region One; although the official manifest initially listed 116 passengers and 17 crew members, authorities later determined through boarding footage that 179 people were aboard, with 76 rescued, 73 bodies recovered and 30 people still unaccounted for in the Government’s July 27 update.
The recovery of the vessel is considered important to the ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding the sinking, while authorities have said the salvage operation presents significant technical challenges, including the vessel’s underwater location and prevailing maritime conditions.
Mahipaul said the public is entitled to know what has happened since the procurement process closed.
“The public has a right to know:
• How many companies submitted Expressions of Interest?
• How many met the stated evaluation criteria?
• How many companies were shortlisted?
• Has a company been selected or engaged?
• If so, who are the companies being considered or engaged?
• And most importantly, when will the salvaging operation actually commence?”
For Mahipaul, the passage of 15 days since the Expression of Interest closed makes the Government’s silence particularly troubling given the scale of the tragedy.
“This is not an ordinary procurement exercise. More than 100 lives were lost in one of the most devastating tragedies in Guyana’s maritime history. Behind those numbers are mothers, fathers, children, spouses, siblings, friends and entire communities still grieving and searching for answers.”
The Government has repeatedly pledged that the circumstances surrounding the disaster would be thoroughly investigated. President Irfaan Ali has also assured the nation that “no stone will be left unturned.”
Mahipaul has now turned that assurance back on the Government, questioning whether the salvage procurement itself has become the unanswered issue.
“But 15 days after the Expression of Interest closed, the Government has not even told the public what happened with the Expressions of Interest.
Surely, the procurement process for salvaging the MV Barima cannot be the stone that has been left unturned.”
His criticism comes as families of those who died continue to await answers about the disaster and the recovery of the vessel.
For Mahipaul, the issue extends beyond the mechanics of a government procurement exercise. He argues that transparency about the salvage process is necessary to maintain public confidence and demonstrate respect for those who died.
“The families deserve answers. The survivors deserve answers. The Guyanese people deserve answers.
This silence is unacceptable and amounts to wickedness on the part of this Government.”
He called on the Government to publicly disclose the status of the procurement process and provide a timeline for the salvage operation.
“Government must come clean with the people and tell the nation what is happening with the salvage of the MV Barima.
This is not about politics. It is about respect for the lives that were lost.”
As of Saturday, August 29, the Government had not publicly announced a successful contractor or a date for commencement of the MV Barima salvage operation.
