Tamùkke, a woman advocacy group, has joined the call for Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill to be removed from his post. See full statement below:
Tamùkke Feminists joins this period of national mourning and expresses condolences to the family and loved ones of all who have perished in the MV Barima Tragedy. Our hearts go out to everyone still awaiting answers, and we wish that during this period, all courtesies are extended to families and loved ones. To survivors, we know that this is a period filled with anxiety and questions, many about your own survival, your experience and possible losses. We encourage you to access services within your communities and including counselling offered by the Human Services Ministry or any other free and accessible service at this time.
Tamùkke also supports the public calls for Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill to be immediately removed and to be held accountable for this tragedy. Edghill served as the political appointee for this ministry for many years, he has a direct relationship with all involved in managing this process and has the political power to influence any process and or investigation. The minister should not be heading the Ministry of Public Works at this time, there are public servants already within the ministry, Maritime and Transport and Harbour capable of doing this. Additionally, Minister Edghill listed years of issues of mismanagement within the sector, years of delays in addressing the getting the new ferry on track to service the Region One route as well as delays to the construction of the facility to dock the new ferry. These are more than enough reasons for Edghill to be held accountable and fired.
We have noted that many survivors and persons who have important information and details about the operation of the ferry are yet to be officially interviewed. We are also concerned that much of the information that alleges about cargo placed on the boat and what has transpired is being dismissed by officials as hearsay. This cannot and should not be the stance at this moment when people are fresh with information and are willing to share their experiences.
Finally, Tamùkke would like to use this opportunity to highlight the need for a comprehensive disaster preparedness and readiness plan to deal with maritime issues. This plan must include hazard mapping, analyse all vulnerabilities, clear and establish links to monitoring agencies, establish guidelines for the alert systems, establish chain of command, clear protocols for rescue and recovery operations, calendar of drills and simulations and other critical needs to handle such incidents. If such a plan is already in place, now is the time to review it with all stakeholders during an authentic engagement process.
Guyanese now is not the time to be politically partisan. We must stand together to demand answers for those who have lost their voices, those who are struggling with this experience and many who will be affected by this for the rest of their lives. Join us in demanding justice!
