APNU demands compensation for families of MV Barima tragedy

Jul 25, 2026 News

…says $1M minimum should be provided for burial of each victim

…wants safety review for all ferries

…15 attorneys eager to assist families

(Kaieteur News) – The A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) on Friday demanded fair and adequate compensation for survivors and the family members of the persons who lost their lives in the tragic boat incident on 18^th July.

Up to the time of this report, 72 bodies were recovered following the capsizing of the MV Barima vessel on Saturday evening, while government reported that 76 persons, including children were rescued. It still remains unclear exactly how many persons were on board the vessel at the time the incident occurred as dozens of persons appeared who were never listed on the official manifest.

APNU demands compensation for families of MV Barima tragedy

MP Saiku Andrews

During its weekly press conference, APNU called for the removal of Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill and Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar, pending the outcome of an independent probe.

Member of Parliament (MP) Saiku Andrews who shadows the public works ministry called for compensation to be paid to the victims and survivors of the tragedy.

Andrews told this newspaper, “It starts with an assistance for the funeral expenses and I believe that there is no less than $1M that should abound to each (victim) to take care of those expenses.”

The party pointed out that in some instances, the sole bread winner of families perished in the boat incident with families left worrying about being able to bury their loved ones and make ends meet.

Moreover, it was explained that some families have been offered a mere $300,000 for funeral expenses when this would not even cover the burial.

In the meantime, APNU revealed that it has put together a legal team but several other lawyers have called and expressed concern that no pronouncement was made from the Guyana Bar Association to provide legal aid to the survivors which wish to also assist the families.

To this end, Todd said, “I believe in another few days you are going to see a number of legal teams which will be presented and assisting the families.”

So far, 15 attorneys have expressed willingness to represent the families. Todd pointed to the importance of this as he reminded of the Mahdia dorms fire where families were encouraged to sign off on compensation packages without independent legal advice.

Meanwhile, to avoid such a disaster from recurring, APNU has called for a comprehensive safety review to be conducted on all existing ferries operating in Guyana.

MP Andrews said, “This is a systemic failure and at some point in time we have to be able to examine the entire system and how it functions…it’s not only about the MV Barima but there are other vessels that are traversing our waterways and we cannot allow this tragedy to happen again.”

The politician assured that the opposition MPs will continue their efforts in the national assembly to ensure these measures can be put in place while they remain willing to “take whatever necessary course of action to force the government to make these reviews.”

In fact, he called on all Guyanese to support the call for these reviews to be conducted as safety remains a priority not only for MPs but every citizen.

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APNU, attorneys, compensation, MV Barima, victims

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