THIS TRAGEDY WAS WAITING TO HAPPEN

THIS TRAGEDY WAS WAITING TO HAPPEN

OPINION BY: Leyland Chitlall Roopnaraine

The horrific loss of nearly 103 lives lies squarely in the hands of the authorities entrusted with public transportation. How else can anyone explain an 87-year-old boat, for major repairs a few months before it capsized, ferrying some 130 persons on a 12-hour journey in some of Guyana’s most treacherous seas?

Here are a few facts on the MV Barima:

• The MV Barima was built by the Scottish company, Ferguson Brothers (Port Glasgow) Ltd. in 1939, and was registered and launched in British Guiana in November 17, 1939.
• In 1966, after Independence, the government of Guyana assumed ownership.
• The MV Barima broke down in 2017 and was repaired at a cost of GY$150 million, and put back into commission.
• In 2021 major engine components were replaced in an emergency. 
• In 2022 portions of the MV Barima were deemed to have seriously deteriorated. As a result, it was subject to emergency repairs for two weeks at a cost of GY$90 million.
• The MV Barima was again subject to critical repairs in 2024 at the Parika dockyard.
• It was slated to be dry-docked in the later part of this year and upgraded at a cost of GY$124.5 million. 

What is of grave concern is the fact that in 2023 Minister Edghill stated in Parliament that the US$12.7 million replacement vessel, the MV MA Lisha was enroute from Calcutta, India. In fact, the bishop travelled to India to attest to the vessel sea worthiness.

No doubt the PPP will invoke the usual defense of this catastrophe, but the vessel did not sink because the crew was using narcotics or drinking..Alcohol did not erode a hull or allow water to pour into the vessel even before it went to sea. The salient question must be: why would such a vessel be allowed to sail with its given documented history of water intake, passenger and cargo overload and unrecorded passenger manifests?

Just like the ’inquiry’ of the Madhia fire which claimed 20 lives, the proposed investigation-even though promising- will reveal what all Guyanese already knows: the lives of the populace take second place while PPP government is more focused on personal wealth attainment. The ministers drive around in Prados and Land Cruisers while Guyanese at large, with some 58 % living below the poverty line, must endure hardships.

And while Opposition Leader, Mohamed Azruddin, has joined the search and rescue efforts in the North -west, his premises were searched by some 20 police and SOCU officials whose energies could have been directed towards the rescuing of those souls that still reside on. the MV Barima.

 THE 592 GUARDIAN