The passengers on the MV Barima and many others are daily the victims of the politics of dominance and fear that is the political reality in Guyana. Almost simultaneously with the Barima disaster another incident, far less traumatic but very disturbing to those involved, was unfolding with little notice. Both issues have resulted from the corrosive nature of unaccountable governance and on this day of remembrance of slavery it is fitting to again note that on these shores neither emancipation nor political independence have yet delivered their potentials for human development and freedom.
Briefly, the politics of fear exists in a state in which autocratic politicians are extracting enormous unjustifiable personal wealth from their positions and in which ethnic cronyism and the imposition of inefficient policies including pervasive patronage spending, is rife. The presence of ethnic identities and the absence of institutionalized inclusive succession processes allow the extant rulers to elicit support from a sizeable share of the population despite the reduction/stagnation in welfare. The fear of falling under an equally inefficient and venal ruler that favours another group is enough to discipline one’s supporters (‘The Control of Politicians in Divided Societies: The Politics of Fear’ https://gerardpadro.com/published-papers/PoF-RES.pdf).
One year ago, on 30 May 2025, the World Boxing’s Sex Eligibility Policy was introduced to ensure a level playing field for all athletes by requiring mandatory sex testing to determine eligibility to compete. The Guyana team travelled to the Commonwealth Games in Scotland on 23 July 2026, but according to Kaieteur News, ‘Guyana’s boxing campaign has been dealt a devastating blow after the country’s boxers were rendered ineligible to compete because their mandatory once-in-a-lifetime genetic sex test results were not returned before the start of the competition.’
According to the Guyana boxing authorities, the genetic samples were collected approximately 4 weeks before the Games began and shipped to the United States for analysis, a timeframe they ‘believed’ was more than sufficient for the results to be processed and returned. On what should have been a simple issue that the boxing authorities had had one year to successfully complete, it was still acting on ‘a belief.’ Even the assistance of the Commonwealth Games Federation and World Boxing did not help.
Just imagine the disappointment of the athletes who have trained their bodies and minds for years and had travelled all the way to Scotland. ‘Unfortunately, ‘something completely beyond our control has denied them that opportunity’ to participate. It is noteworthy that the ‘country’s finest boxing achievements came in 1978, when Winfield Braithwaite captured gold in the light welterweight division in Edmonton, Canada. The most recent medal followed in 1990, just before the return to democracy, when Wesley Christmas secured bronze in the bantamweight division in New Zealand (KN: 23/07/2026).
The MV Barima tragedy and the boxing fiasco are different in many ways but make no mistake – both are the outcome of the unaccountable, exclusive, ethnic cronyist governance that pervades the Guyanese political and social landscape. It is difficult for a society to achieve individual or collective goals with a dysfunctional social structure that defines our norms and values and provides the framework for cooperation, conflict resolution, resource distribution, role assignments, etc.
Administratively and strategically, most people find it relatively easier to blame individuals, and particularly those closer to an event, for negative results and there is usually some merit in that position. Thus there is a clamor for the Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, whose ministry is responsible for the operations of the Barima, to resign.
I have misgivings about the Bishop. After all, Haiti aside, for the last three decades, Guyana has been the worst managed country in the Caribbean Community and yet the Bishop had the insight to suggest that if Jesus should visit Guyana, he would vote for the PPP. Furthermore, if my memory is correct, more recently he provided us with one of the most poignant examples of ethnic cronyism by advising the people of South Georgetown that if they want proper infrastructure, they need to support the PPP!
Political accountability, particularly in an ethnically divided society, refers to the existence of a context in which in both theory and practise social entities have an obligation to answer, explain, justify, and face the established consequences for their action or inaction by way of adjudication by independent processes over which they do not have significant control, and the population is free to express and peacefully contest any effort to suppress their interests.
For the Constitution or any law to say that an institution is ‘independent’ does not make it independent if there is nothing in place to ensure that the institution is in an operational framework that facilitates its independence. The latter does not exist in Guyana: both in theory and practise, political accountability in Guyana is absent at the highest political levels.
Guyana’s Constitution allows the presidency to be won and be controlled by the leader of a party with the highest plurality: even 20% of votes. It also allows the party with the highest number of votes – even by one vote – to control the parliament, the budget and all else, including, directly or indirectly, the chair and majority of members of almost every important commission and hence the judiciary.
Thus, we should understand that the notion of ‘responsibility’ attached the Bishop in relation to the MV Barima tragdedy is essentially conceptual. A few weeks ago, I argued that the leadership of the PPP is well aware of the dysfunctional nature of Guyana’s political system but rather than focusing on making reforms, it seeks to take the advantages the system offers to establish ethnic/political dominance with the apparent disclaimer being ‘we are doing the best we can in the circumstances’ (‘What A Shame’, VV:07/06/2026).
Given his position, Bishop Edghill could interfere with the workings of the so-called Commission of Inquiry into the MV Barima tragedy (which, like most of its predecessors, is already discredited by the way it was appointed) and as such he should voluntarily recuse himself.
Given the historic meanderings surrounding the efforts to replace the MV Barima, you will have a hard time convincing me that the entire political hierarchy, particularly those that deal with government financing, do not have a good understanding of the decrepit nature of that ship, the illegal ‘runnings’ that surrounded its operations and the vicissitudes associated with the process.
Freedom, nationhood, democracy and accountability, will not materialise in Guyana if the political elites do not accept that ‘In the presence of ethnic divisions, institutional strength is extremely important and implementing elections may not be enough. Any reform should include executive constraints on the capacity of the leaders to discriminate among ethnic groups, and it should include mechanisms that smooth intra-group competition’ (The Politics of Fear, op cit).
