Pressure mounts on Edghill as Indigenous leaders demand his resignation over ferry tragedy

Jul 27, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – As criticisms continue to mount over the MV Barima tragedy, two hinterland leaders are now openly calling on Public Works Minister Juan Edghill to resign, pointing out that the tragedy has brought to the fore the failures in Guyana’s river transport system.

Kako Toshao Romario Hastings and Chairman of the Aruau Community Development Council (CDC), Chris Debideen, have both noted that accountability must extend beyond the ongoing investigations, as that leadership also carries responsibility when lives are lost.

“Tragedies are never as simple as they first appear”

In a fiery public statement entitled “Thoughts on the Barima Tragedy, Part 1” Toshao Hastings criticised the broad governance structures surrounding maritime transport service delivery in Region One, explicitly connecting the disaster to political appointments and resource allocation.

“To say this tragedy should not be political is to ignore the very forces that helped shape it,” Hastings declared. “Politics determined who was appointed to lead the department and the ministry responsible for the service… Politics further influenced the prioritisation of resources, the competency and the urgency with which longstanding concerns were addressed or ignored.”

Hastings took aim at indigenous leaders who have maintained silence amid the fallout, arguing that fear of political retribution has compromised representation.

“Politics determines the fear many Toshaos feel about speaking honestly, not because they do not care, but because they know the cost of challenging power,” Hastings wrote. “Yet every time accountability is traded for access, our people ultimately pay the greater price. This was my breaking point.”

Concluding his address, Hastings insisted that public administration requires public responsibility. “That is why, if I were the Minister of Public Works, I would have resigned,” he stated. “Not because resignation alone brings back those we have lost… But because leadership is measured not only by accepting praise when things go well, but by accepting responsibility when they do not. Sometimes the most honourable act of leadership is to step aside so that public confidence, institutional integrity and genuine reform can begin.”

“These are not animals you are dealing with”

Chris Debideen, Chairman of the Aruau CDC, released an Open Letter addressed directly to President Irfaan Ali calling for safe, modern vessel infrastructure across the region’s waterways.

Speaking directly with Kaieteur News, Debideen, who confirmed he lost two relatives in the vessel sinking, expressed deep frustration with both the dilapidated condition of public transit vessels operating over rough waters and the sluggish emergency response following the incident.

“Our people deserve better means of transportation, modernised boats, not a set of old boats. This is people’s lives they are dealing with over rough water,” Debideen told Kaieteur News. “Imagine the time that the boat sinks and the time [rescuers] respond… I wake up and I say, ‘I wonder if this is just a dream I’m dreaming,’ because up to now, I can’t accept the reality that this really happened.”

Debideen pushed back forcefully against any attempts to dismiss community grievances as partisan grandstanding, calling out political parties for bickering while victims were actively in need of rescue. “People should not think that because you stand up for your people it’s based on politics or jump to a political agenda… It is about the people at the end of the day,” Debideen stated. “Over the few days while this tragedy was going on, there was pulling and talking between political parties, but I just hope that they could have come together and work cooperatively in terms of rescuing these people instead of bashing each other.”

Addressing governance standards directly, Debideen highlighted what he characterised as a double standard between local village administration and central government leadership. He argued that local leaders like Toshaos or CDC chairmen would be removed immediately if mismanagement resulted in loss of life under their watch.

“If it was one of us as a CDC Chairman or Toshao, let’s say by mismanagement of leadership, they would replace somebody else with it, and that is right,” Debideen pointed out. “System needs to be put in place for proper management and accountability… These are not animals you are dealing with.”

While affirming that he holds no malice toward the central government and acknowledges past achievements, Debideen insisted that basic public safety requires firm consequences when catastrophic failures happen.

“As much as I would like to thank the government for certain things, there are certain things I wouldn’t stand up and watch happen,” Debideen added. “Region One deserves safe, modern, and reliable passenger transportation. No family should have to experience this kind of pain because of preventable failures.”

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• ferry tragedy, Juan Edghill, MV Barima, resignation, Toshao

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