Parliament must determine COI’s composition for MV Barima probe – Dr. Campbell

Jul 24, 2026 News

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…says too many troubling questions remain unanswered

(Kaieteur News) – A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament, Dr. Terrence Campbell, has stressed that there are many unanswered questions surrounding the MV Barima tragedy and believes the next sitting of the National Assembly should be dedicated to addressing them.

Appearing on New Day on GoMoseley Radio on Thursday morning, Dr. Campbell underscored the need for an open and transparent discussion when the National Assembly meets on Monday.

With dozens still unaccounted for and 72 bodies recovered as of Thursday evening, according to Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, Dr. Campbell acknowledged the government’s commitment to establishing a Commission of Inquiry (COI). However, he argued that parliament should first determine the way forward, including the composition and scope of such a commission.

“I would like to see a suspension of the standing orders for us to discuss this incident. There are a number of matters slated for discussion. There are bills for discussion. There is a supplementary financial bill that’s there but none of that, none of that rises to the level of importance as a discussion on this tragedy,” he said.

“This is the biggest disaster in Guyana’s history…” he added, noting that while the Jonestown tragedy claimed hundreds of lives, very few were Guyanese.

“So, the biggest tragedy from a single event in Guyana’s history, this needs to be addressed at the level of the national assembly. This type of incident and the path forward to avoid any recurrence must be addressed at the level of national assembly,” Dr. Campbell stated.

He maintained that the MV Barima tragedy should be placed at the top of parliament’s agenda, arguing that the country’s focus must be on ensuring such a disaster never happens again.

“I’m a little emotional about this Gordon because I’ve been out there. I’ve seen those, I’ve seen babies, a baby. I’ve seen teenagers. I’ve seen adults out there floating on the back, face downwards,” he said.

Dr. Campbell underscored that the opposition must do everything within its power to ensure all concerns surrounding the tragedy are addressed. He said an event of such magnitude demands accountability without scapegoating.

“Accountability must go from top to bottom,” he said. He also urged the administration to be transparent with the public, stressing that nothing can be learned through obfuscation.

Dr Campbell said Guyanese need more than assurances that a commission of inquiry will be established; they need confidence that it will be independent and transparent.

“So, we need to have proper terms of reference and so on. I think the decisions, the parliament needs to have a say in the decision going forward as to commission of inquiry and all other steps that must be taken and questions must be asked, hard questions must be asked,” he said.

The APNU parliamentarian also questioned why newly acquired vessels, purchased at a cost of millions of dollars, remain unused, and why helicopters acquired for the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) could not be effectively deployed during the response, forcing the government to rely on aircraft operated by private entities.

“There are serious questions to be asked here, and it must be done with the national assembly, because the national assembly, we don’t always get the truth, but we have sometimes, I think we come closer to the truth from government officials than the media can get or anyone else can get and so the discussion of this tragedy is, lays proper properly in the National Assembly,” he lamented.

Pointing to Guyana’s Westminster system of governance, Dr. Campbell argued that in other democracies, ministers resign following tragedies of this magnitude to allow for an independent investigation.

“It cannot be that we are so dependent on the great bishop that no one else can do what he’s doing right now,” Dr. Campbell said, adding, “There should be ministerial responsibility here. You take responsibility when a major catastrophe like this takes place under your watch and we need to move back to those standards. You resign and you allow someone else to come in, take over and move the process forward. It cannot be that this country is so dependent on Minister Edghill.”

Reflecting on his visit to the recovery operations, Dr. Campbell reiterated concerns he had previously raised about what he witnessed.

“I expected to see many more vessels involved in the search and recovery effort. I wasn’t able to get to ground zero, so to speak, where the Barima went down, simply because M.P. Sherrod Duncan had been arrested. But on the way there, we were not far away, just about 30 minutes away. I was dissatisfied with what I saw. All I saw were private operators, private people, and the leader of the opposition as well. Some of those private people had been contracted by him. Some were operating independently who were moving around and looking for, at that point, as much as we tried to keep hope alive and say rescue, it was more of a recovery effort at that point,” he said.

He also expressed concern over the condition of some of the bodies recovered. The MP noted that one body they encountered at sea had already begun decomposing, adding, “my worry remains that we will never recover all of the bodies from this tragedy and that several of those bodies that will eventually be recovered, it will be only DNA testing perhaps will allow us to identify who those persons were.”

He also criticised the government’s handling of the tragedy, saying that, as with previous crises under the PPP administration, there had been no briefing or engagement with the parliamentary opposition. According to the APNU MP, the Irfaan Ali administration has made no effort to meet with or brief the opposition on the ongoing response and recovery efforts.

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• COI, investigate, MV Barima tragedy, National Assembly, Terrence Campbell

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