The government is moving to establish an independent Commission of Inquiry into the MV Barima tragedy, describing it as a priority that will determine what led to the disaster, identify accountability and recommend measures to strengthen maritime safety.
Speaking during an interview on Gordon Moseley’s radio programme Wednesday morning, the Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips disclosed that while search and recovery operations and support for affected families remain the immediate focus, work is already underway to establish the inquiry.
“As I mentioned, we started with search and rescue, search and recovery, and bringing closure, working with families because this is a difficult time for all of us in the area,” the prime minister said.
“The next step is having that Commission of Inquiry established as early as possible. I will not give you a timeline, but it is certain that it is a priority action that the government is looking at right now.” he added.
Prime Minister Phillips said the independent inquiry will examine every aspect of the tragedy and recommend measures to improve the safety of ferry operations across the country.
“I can assure you, yes, we will have a Commission of Inquiry, and people will be held responsible based on the outcome, the results and the recommendations of that Commission of Inquiry,” he stated.
He emphaised that the findings will help strengthen regulations and prevent similar incidents in the future.
“This incident and the investigation report from this incident certainly will lead us in a direction where we could improve on the services and tighten the regulations to ensure that people don’t deviate from standard operating procedures in the future,” he said.
Meanwhile, the prime minister also noted that the government continues to provide comprehensive assistance to families affected by the tragedy.
He explained that relatives have been flown from Port Kaituma, Mabaruma and Georgetown to assist with the identification of victims, while additional refrigerated storage has been installed to preserve recovered bodies before they are released to their families.
The government is also providing transportation, funeral assistance, financial support, temporary accommodation where necessary and psychosocial counselling for survivors and bereaved families.
“We’ve offered them financial assistance. We have provided all the necessary assistance in terms of transportation, funeral arrangements and everything,” the Prime Minister said.
He added that counselling services remain available in both Georgetown and Region One as the government continues to support those affected by the tragedy. [DPI]
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