Two MV Barima inquiry commissioners’ ties to ruling parties in sister CARICOM states should cause no worry- former MARAD chief

Last Updated on Sunday, 26 July 2026, 21:32 by Denis Chabrol

Two of the five commissioners of inquiry into the MV Barima ferry tragedy are connected to the ruling parties in their countries, but a former Director-General of the Maritime Administration (MARAD), Dr Ivor English believes that they should not be judged by their political affiliation.

“We live in a world where becoming apolitical is often a very difficult conceptualisation,” he said on the latest edition of Caribbean Tea, a YouTube Channel programme, which will be broadcast later this week.

Nyree Dawn Alfonso of Trinidad and Tobago, a lawyer with expertise in Admiralty and Maritime Law, was an election agent for Trinidad and Tobago’s ruling United National Congress (UNC) in her country’s 2025 general elections. Now Minister of Labour, Keoma Griffith was back in 2022 part of her legal team in representing the owners of two vessels in Guyana’s High Court.

Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry Justice Godfrey Philip Smith is a former Foreign Affairs Minister, and Attorney General of Belize. He is also a former member of the ruling People’s United Party (PUP).

Guyana’s ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) and the UNC historically enjoy very close relations, and in recent years the Irfaan Ali-led administration has built healthy bilateral relations  with the PUP-led administration of Prime Minister John Briceno.

But Dr English declined to be drawn into comment that their association could raise concerns about bias. “I will not attempt to speculate and say because Guyana has a good relationship with Belize, we cannot take somebody from Belize,” he said.

A former General Manager of the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD), who went on to become MARAD’s first Director-General, said it is good that the panel of commissioners are not from Guyana as that could have triggered concerns about whether they have an agenda against or for the government.

“I think it’s easy to determine when people are doing their jobs or not doing their jobs,” he said, adding that Polish Naval Architect and Marine Engineer Andre Jesse Anungski was a “good” choice as he would be able to answer technical questions such as passenger space and carrying capacity of the MV Barima. 

Mr Smith previously served as a member of the Commission of Inquiry into the March 2020 general and regional elections that had been marred by alleged efforts to declare APNU+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) the winner.

The opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)-which had been calling for an independent commission of inquiry in the sinking of the MV Barima  late in the night of Saturday, July 18 about 10 miles off the Essequibo Coast in the vicinity of Pomeroon- is concerned about Mr Smith’s  political background. “Godfrey Phillip Smith has a political background in addition to his legal and judicial career and I am personally not comfortable with him serving as the Chairman of the COI into the MV Barima tragedy. No one with any known political background should be a Commissioner. No one!,” APNU parliamentarian Ganesh Mahipaul said. APNU parliamentary leader Dr Terrence Campbell told Demerara Waves Online News on Sunday night that he “will study” the COI team before offering a reaction.

APNU had wanted the National Assembly on Monday, July 27 to debate a motion and agree on the terms of reference. The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) had recommended that President Ali and Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed agree to a six-member team to probe the incident that has so far unofficially claimed 100 lives, with 30 others unaccounted for.

Mr Mohamed, who is also leader of We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), told Demerara Waves Online News that the COI would be measured by its quality of its work. “The credibility of the Commission of Inquiry into the MV Barima tragedy hinges on whether it operates independently, transparently, and without political interference,” he said. In light of criticisms of a number of the commissioners, he said the commission would have to ensure that it attracts and retains public confidence. “It is critical that the commission conducts its work transparently in order to have public confidence and dispels any perception of bias,” he said the several families, who lost loved ones, and survivors are asking for a thorough investigation. He hoped that the COI would complete its work as soon as possible and that its report is released in full without delay. “At the end of this process, justice must prevail,” he said.

The Guyana government estimates that 179 passengers and crew left aboard the vessel Saturday afternoon bound for Port Kaituma, an inland Amerindian community in the north-western shoulder of the country. The manifest shows that there were 116 passengers and 17 crew members.