MV Barima tragedy

The Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the capsizing and sinking of the MV Barima has invited survivors, relatives of victims, witnesses and other persons with relevant information to apply for standing in the proceedings.
The Commission issued a public notice on Tuesday advising persons wishing to participate in the Inquiry to contact its Secretary, Javed Shaddick, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara (ECD).
Applications will be considered by the Commission, which may grant standing to persons who meet specified criteria.
According to the notice, standing may be granted where an applicant played, or may have played, a direct and significant role in matters being investigated, or possesses relevant evidence or information.
The Commission will also consider applications from persons with a substantial, personal or direct interest in the subject matter, including witnesses, survivors and family members of victims.
Persons who may be subject to significant criticism during the proceedings or in the Commission’s final report may also qualify for standing.
Additionally, the Commission may grant standing where it determines that a person’s participation would assist it in fulfilling its terms of reference.
Persons wishing to apply have been asked to contact Shaddick at [email protected] or 592-674-7473.
The Commission’s invitation comes as preparations continue for the commencement of public hearings into the July 18 sinking of the MV Barima.
Guyana Times on September 3 reported that the Commission said it was working to commence the Inquiry later this month.
The five-member Commission, appointed on July 30, is chaired by Belizean Justice Godfrey Phillip Smith and includes Captain Hamada Fouda of Jamaica, Trinidadian Attorney-at-Law Nyree Dawn Alfonso, Dr Andrzej Jasionowski of Poland and Rear Admiral (Retired) Hayden Pritchard of Trinidad and Tobago.
Since their appointment, the Commissioners have conducted a preliminary in-person survey of the accident site, identified the ACCC as the venue for public hearings and established a Secretariat to provide administrative, research and logistical support. The Commission has also been obtaining information from public institutions, including the Maritime Administration (MARAD), Transport and Harbours Department (THD) and Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard.
It has begun a preliminary analysis of documents concerning the vessel’s seaworthiness, the conditions under which it sailed and crew operations during the voyage.
The Commission has also been compiling a list of potential witnesses and preparing a preliminary schedule for interviews.
Rules of Procedure are being finalised to govern the conduct of the Inquiry, with the Commission stating that the rules are intended to ensure that the proceedings are open, transparent, orderly, fair and effective.
The MV Barima left Port Georgetown on July 18 with about 179 persons onboard, bound for Port Kaituma, Region One, when it capsized and sank off the Essequibo Coast.
Seventy-six persons survived, while 73 deaths have been confirmed and 30 people remain unaccounted for, according to information provided following the tragedy.
Three crew members, including the captain, have been charged and remanded on 72 counts of murder.
President Dr Irfaan Ali subsequently appointed the Commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding the tragedy and submit its findings, observations and recommendations to the Government.
Meanwhile, the Government has been providing support to survivors and affected families through the Hope, Empathy, Aid, Resilience and Trust (HEART) initiative.
Efforts are also underway to salvage the sunken vessel, with the Government having received several Expressions of Interest for the operation.

Three miners, including two non-nationals, have been detained in connection with illegal mining along the Siparuni Riverbank, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).
The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission’s (GGMC) Enforcement Team found that machinery had been placed on the riverbank and a river dredge directed into it to extract minerals. The operation damaged the riverbank, and the team is assessing the extent of the damage.

According to GGMC, its team seized the river dredge and associated equipment, including a motor vehicle. The matter has been handed over to the Guyana Police Force for further investigation.
In a statement on Tuesday, GGMC said that the miner responsible for the operation will be required to account for the gold mined in the area, as well as cover the reclamation costs for the damaged site.
The ministry reiterated that mining must be conducted in accordance with the required approvals and environmental safeguards. Operators will be held accountable for illegal activities and the rehabilitation of areas damaged by their operations.
Only on Tuesday, the Guyana Times reported that the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) had suspended the operations of a shop at Tamakay Landing in the Mazaruni Mining District, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), after it was found trading gold without the required approvals and licences.
According to the Natural Resources Ministry, the GGMC Enforcement Team conducted the operation on Monday, during which a quantity of gold, equipment and cash were seized. Two persons were detained by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) as investigations continue.
The ministry said the enforcement action is part of its ongoing efforts to clamp down on illegal mining and related activities across the country’s mining districts.
Two water dredges and a quantity of gold were seized following the discovery and dismantling of yet another illegal mining operation about a week ago, this time along the Puruni River in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
The Natural Resources Ministry, in a statement on Saturday last, said the exercise was conducted by the Enforcement Department of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), with support from the Guyana Police Force (GPF), on Thursday.
Illegal mining in Guyana is governed by the Mining Act (Cap. 65:01) and enforced through measures by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).
All miners and operators must secure official titles, permits and regulatory approval from the GGMC before starting any extraction or trade. Operating unlicensed gold shops or undocumented mining pits violates Guyana’s law.
The ministry had reported that nine people were arrested, charged and prosecuted in January 2026 for breaches of Guyana’s mining laws.
The cases were heard in the Bartica, Mahdia and Linden Magistrates’ Courts, where the accused pleaded guilty and were fined for offences including mining without licences or permits, operating licensed dredges without authorisation, and using unregistered or unlicensed dredges.

US extradition request for Mohameds
…“I think it’s a tactic to make me afraid or intimidated” – Cop tells court

Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman on Tuesday urged those involved in the ongoing extradition proceedings against United States (US)-sanctioned and indicted Azruddin Mohamed and his father, Nazar Mohamed, to keep children and spouses away from social media exchanges surrounding the case. The warning followed Senior Superintendent of Police Prem Narine’s report to the court about Facebook posts featuring a photograph of Narine, President Dr Irfaan Ali, Narine’s wife and his 11-year-old son, accompanied by what he described as a derogatory comment.

Narine, head of the Guyana Police Force’s (GPF) Special Branch Unit, said the post was brought to his attention during the lunch break while he was giving evidence in the proceedings. He told the court that the publication contained what he considered a derogatory comment and was intended to intimidate him because of his testimony. Narine said he was particularly troubled by the inclusion of his son, whose face was visible in the photograph. “I think it’s a tactic to make me afraid or intimidated, which I am somewhat intimidated because my 11-year-old is defenceless in the public. He goes to a public school,” he said. Narine said the photograph had previously been circulated with his son’s face blocked, but that was not the case with the latest publication. The post was made from the “Hana Khamelia” Facebook account, which has been publicly associated with Hana Mohamed, the sister of US-sanctioned Azruddin Mohamed and daughter of Nazar Mohamed. A similar post was subsequently shared on a Facebook page bearing the name “Azruddin Mohamed, Leader of the Opposition – Guyana.”
When asked about the publication, Defence Attorney Siand Dhurjon said he had no knowledge of it. Dhurjon said it would be unfortunate for children or spouses to become involved in what he described as the political fray. He maintained, however, that any question of wrongdoing or liability arising from the post should be dealt with through the courts. Chief Magistrate Latchman then made clear her concern was the involvement of innocent family members.

“This is not right”
She said, “These children have schools to go to, have classes to attend. This is not right to do that.” She added that social media posts could affect children and spouses, who should be kept out of the matter. “These are innocent people in this matter. So, whoever’s doing that needs to stop it,” Latchman said. The Chief Magistrate has previously addressed social media activity connected to the extradition proceedings. She had previously warned Hana Mohamed against making posts concerning the case after Narine and Prosecutor Glenn Hanoman raised concerns about material posted from the “Hana Khamelia” account.
Defence Attorney Siand Dhurjon concluded his cross-examination of Narine on Tuesday, bringing his questioning of the Special Branch Unit head to an end after several days. Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde then took over the cross-examination and began questioning Narine on behalf of the defence. Narine’s cross-examination will continue when the extradition proceedings resume on October 21 at 13:30h, with the court scheduled to sit until approximately 16:30h to 16:45h.
The hearing will resume the following day, October 22.

US indicted
The US-sanctioned Azruddin Mohamed and his father are facing extradition proceedings in Guyana after the US formally requested their surrender on October 30, 2025. A US federal grand jury in Florida indicted the two men on allegations including wire and mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and customs violations linked to an alleged US$50 million gold export and tax-evasion scheme. US prosecutors alleged that the men evaded taxes and royalties on more than 10,000 kilogrammes (kg) of gold through falsified customs declarations and reused export seals. The US indictment also alleges that Azruddin Mohamed evaded more than US$1 million in Guyanese taxes in connection with the Lamborghini’s importation.
They have denied the allegations. The US is seeking their extradition so they can face prosecution. Pending the outcome of the extradition proceedings, the two men, who were arrested on October 31, 2025, were each granted $150,000 bail and ordered to surrender their passports and report to the Ruimveldt Police Station as directed by the court.
Both Azruddin Mohamed and his father, Nazar Mohamed, were sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury in June 2024 under the Global Magnitsky sanctions programme over alleged involvement in corruption.

Faced with massive economic, social and physical infrastructure transformation in Guyana since 2020, the usual critics are in complete denial, insisting that “people cannot eat roads, highways, bridges, schools and hospitals”.
No country’s path for development is smooth. This is true for both developed and developing countries. Certainly, Guyana’s development path has had many ups and downs. But it would be dishonest for anyone to dispute that Guyana is experiencing massive transformation. Ruminations’ description is that Guyana is developing by leaps and bounds. Some might want to debate the “leaps and bounds” and be much more conservative. Still, none of us can objectively and honestly dispute that Guyana’s development has been on a steep upward trajectory.
But there is a small group in Guyana, the naysayers, driven by political motivation and, maybe, by other motivations, who have tried desperately to spin the development trajectory to distract from the fact that Guyana’s overall development since 2020 has been on a positive, upward trajectory.
These naysayers argue that the fact that Guyana is the country with the fastest growing GDP in the world six years in a row is meaningless because people do not eat GDP. They argue that the massive physical infrastructure transformations are meaningless because people do not eat highways, bridges, schools, hospitals, stadiums, etc. They insist that more than 50,000 house lots distributed and thousands of homes constructed and occupied mean nothing because people do not eat house lots or houses. They even argue that the 10,000 or more vehicles purchased by the citizens every other month is not development because people cannot eat cars and other vehicles. For every area of development, visible or not, the naysayers find something to “diss” the amazing development taking place in Guyana.
The truth is that the naysayers face the massive problem – people living in Guyana and those visiting, see the massive transformation taking place. Still the naysayers keep screaming every chance they have that the massive infrastructure transformation that people see is a hoax because people cannot “eat roads, highways, bridges, schools, hospitals, etc.” The critics demand that the Government stop investment in physical infrastructure and give people cash handouts.
Ruminations has one question to the naysayers: which infrastructure project should the Government not have undertaken? Was the Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge not necessary? Was the Wismar Bridge across the Demerara River not important? Were the Linden, the East Bank Demerara, the East Coast Demerara, the Linden-Mabura Highways a waste of resources? Which school or hospital was a waste of money? Which community road or street was not much needed? For all those who insist that people cannot “eat roads, highways, bridges, schools, hospitals, etc” as their only reason to criticise the Government’s massive investment in infrastructure development, they need to be upfront and honest with the Guyanese people, they need to tell them which infrastructure investment was a waste of money.
Clearly, the naysayers have bumped into an unreceptive public as their argument that people cannot eat infrastructure is shallow and easy for people to simply ignore. This has forced the naysayers to look for other avenues to create polarisation in the society. Since people outrightly rejected the naysayers’ cries that people “cannot eat infrastructure”, the naysayers tried an alternative criticism against the massive investment in physical infrastructure. They started to scream that the massive infrastructure investments were driven by greed and corruption. They tried convincing the public that the massive investment in physical infrastructure was motivated only by the Government’s desire to award their families and friends with big contracts.
This is why we ask again: which of these big infrastructural investments was not really needed?
Having failed with their whimsical arguments against massive infrastructure investments, the naysayers have now targeted President Irfaan Ali with their reprehensible misinformation campaign. They have made President Irfaan Ali their main target in their corruption propaganda. They started their wicked campaign by trying to link President Irfaan Ali’s farm which he has owned for a long time (at least before 2012) as obtained through illegal means. That attempt has now fallen flat since people now see through the wickedness.
Undaunted, the naysayers tried to twist a legitimate action as the President converting State lands into his personal ownership. A few days ago, Kiskadee Watch, which has become an Opposition mouthpiece, carried a story asserting that President Irfaan Ali bought 182 acres of State land. They knew that they were misrepresenting the facts. It was barefaced, naked misinformation. When the Lands and Surveys Commission issued the truth that President Irfaan Ali had carried out his responsibility to sign over State lands for issuing titles to ordinary citizens, Kiskadee Watch did not apologise but insisted that it was a typological error where they used the word “bought” instead of the word “brought”. It was wicked dishonesty.
What has happened is that Kiskadee Watch has joined other news outlets which have become nothing but shameless fronts for the Leader of the Opposition and the party he owns, WIN. Instead of truths, they trade in lies and misrepresentation. A good example is the Meet and Greet Meeting President Ali held in Queens, New York during his trip to the UN last week. The crowd that showed up was far larger than could be accommodated in the hall. The Opposition sycophants decided to spin the story that President Ali kept people out of the hall because he did not want people to confront him. It is insane that those who hate President Ali and the PPP rely totally on lies and misinformation.

…the woke class?
For years, your Eyewitness\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ has observed a certain corner of the “creative class” enjoying a splendid snooty arrangement. They wrote the advertisements, reviewed films, snickered on the latter’s moral shortcomings – and then hosted a panel on why we the audience had misunderstood both!! Now AI can produce the advertisement, draft the review, and generate a panel’s worth of solemn talking points before the coffee arrives!!
This has resulted in the American media, film and arts industries losing more than 200,000 jobs in four years!! Now, it ain’t all AI – there’s also Hollywood consolidation, offshoring and audiences drifting towards social media. But AI is the main culprit!! To your Eyewitness, this all has a wicked irony –- some of the most strident woke voices insisting every other industry must embrace AI disruption now face a machine that’s disrupting their own!!
The clerk in the office was told to retrain…the doctor to bone up (no pun intended!); the factory worker was offered a seminar on resilience when his assembly line is automated – but now that the shoe’s on the other foot – and AI’s threatening jobs producing corporate purple prose about resilience – suddenly we must hold up pushing AI ‘cause civilisation itself hangs in the balance. Payback’s a bitch, innit??
Interestingly, the machine is alarmingly fluent in the language of fashionable, snooty virtue signalling!! Ask it for a statement about representation, an apology for insufficient representation, or a revised apology acknowledging the emotional labour occasioned by the first apology and it will oblige in seconds!! A high-paid consultant once needed a workshop, a slide deck and an invoice to achieve the same result – so now he’s outta here!!
Now this doesn’t mean all artists and other creatives deserve to lose their livelihoods – after all, not every one of them think they belong to some imaginary woke club and they’re better than us slobs!! It just means the folks who turned moral vocabulary into a marketable product may soon discover their product is remarkably easy to imitate!! While a machine can’t have “Lived experience”, exercise judgment or make good art simply by predicting the next word – it can produce an infinite stream of polished, interchangeable language!! If that was the whole service, the competition’s gonna be fierce!!
But perhaps the woke class – even those in Guyana! – will survive by doing what they’ve long recommended to everyone else – adapt!! They can do worse than begin by asking who owns the technology, who profits from it, and what happens to workers when their employers find a cheaper substitute!!
Those would be excellent questions – the American factory worker in their rust belt has been asking them for years!! Let’s not follow suit!!

…incitement
Well, there’s been a confession from one of the killers of those poor two Henry boys – a gruesome incident that precipitated repercussions from West Berbice where the murder occurred all the way to the Corentyne Coast!! What could’ve caused this? It couldn’t have been Police indifference and sloth – since within days seven individuals had been arrested and the Crime Chief assured one and all that investigations were continuing and “no stone would be left unturned”!!
But yet the protests morphed into civil unrest and lawlessness against all individuals seeking to traverse the Public Road – and Indian-Guyanese in particular.  And all of these atrocities could be traced to the very public utterances of David Granger and Joseph Harmon who said the PPP was behind the murders – and the Police were “bought out”!!
They were determined to continue their attempted heist of the reins of Government – assisted by Mingo and Co – and the murder of the Henry boys was the occasion, not the cause of the war!!

…Cuban Government
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio just said that Cuba has already “fallen” – while describing the island as a “failed state” with a dysfunctional economy and government.
Guess we just gotta wait for the other foot to fall??

Former Guyana youth cricketer Nigel Deodat is now a Tucber Park player. Deodat stroked a stellar 77 against his former home club, Blairmont as the visiting Tucber Park side recorded a comprehensive 166-run in the Berbice Cricket Board first-division tournament.

At the Blairmont Community Centre Ground, Tucber Park batted first and posted a strong total of 274 for 8 from 42 overs, setting Blairmont a challenging target of 275.
Deodat led the charge with an impressive 77 from 62 balls, dropping anchor in the innings.
Berbice Senior all- rounder Kwesi Mickle provided valuable support with 56 from 57 balls, while Garfield Benjamin added a brisk 36 from just 21 deliveries to accelerate the scoring.
The home team had little answers for Tucber Park well-stacked bowling line-up. Blairmont were bowled out for just 108 in 24.2 overs, falling short of the target.
Talented and discipline Guyana Under 19 left arm spinner Gilbert Griffith was the standout bowler, claiming an excellent 4 for 26.
Senior National player Zeynul Ramsammy also impressed with 4 for 35 with his leg-spin, while Kwesi Mickle completed the bowling effort with 1 for 0.
Blairmont’s resistance was led by Antonio Depaul, who top-scored with 16, while Kelston Kisten made 14 and Emanuel Lett contributed 9.

…high-performance cricket, athlete/coach development among key areas

Guyana’s cricket is set to receive a major boost with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS) entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Lahore Qalandars of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
The Lahore Qalandars are the most successful team in PSL winning three PSL Championships (2022, 2023, and 2025).
According to the Ministry, the MoU – signed by the Owner and Team Director of the Lahore Qalandars, Sameen Rana; Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson, Jr; and Minister within the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Steven Jacobs – establishes a framework for cooperation in high-performance cricket, athlete and coach development, technical exchange, and international collaboration.

Under the framework, the Guyana Cricket Board will serve as the Ministry’s principal technical partner, providing technical expertise and support in the development and implementation of cricket-related programmes and initiatives.
The collaboration will provide opportunities for player and coach exchanges, high-performance training, coaching education, talent identification, and the sharing of technical knowledge and expertise. It also provides for the potential establishment of joint cricket camps, coaching clinics, youth development programmes, women’s cricket initiatives, and other activities aimed at strengthening cricket at all levels.
A key focus of the partnership will be the exchange of technical expertise and international best practices. This will strengthen Guyana’s capacity to develop and sustain high-performance cricket pathways, while providing athletes and coaches with greater exposure to international standards, methodologies, and practice.
The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport noted that it will continue to pursue strategic international partnerships that advance talent development for Guyanese athletes and coaches, strengthen the country’s sporting systems, and contribute to the continued growth and international competitiveness of Guyana’s sport.

The Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) has finalised a nine-member team to represent the country at the 2026 Caribbean Elite and Under-23 Road Cycling Championships in the Dominican Republic next month.
Current national road race champion Briton John headlines the five-man Elite squad, while national Under-23 champion Ajani Cutting is among four riders selected in the younger category.
John will be joined in the Elite division by Alex Mendes, Andre Greene, Segun Hubbard and Devendra Sahadeo. Cutting, meanwhile, will compete alongside Aaron Newton, Sidwell Sandy, and Mark Lewis in the Under-23 ranks.
The championships will run from October 9 to 12, with the Individual Time Trial (ITT) scheduled for Saturday, October 10, followed by the Individual Road Race (IRR) on Sunday, October 11.
Guyana will enter the regional event with several riders carrying experience from previous championships, including John and Newton, who produced notable performances at the 2025 edition in Belize City, Belize.

Newton delivered Guyana’s standout result at those championships when he captured the silver medal in the Men’s Under-23 Individual Time Trial. His return gives the national team a proven medal performer heading into this year’s competition.
John was also among Guyana’s strongest performers in Belize, producing top-10 finishes in both Elite events. He placed eighth overall in the Men’s Elite ITT before returning to finish 10th in the demanding 164.4-kilometre IRR.
The national champion will again be expected to feature prominently as Guyana’s Elite riders test themselves against some of the Caribbean’s leading cyclists.
Cutting will also enter the championships as one of Guyana’s leading Under-23 prospects after securing the national title in that division.
The Caribbean Elite and U23 Championships will bring together cyclists from across the region, with Guyana seeking strong performances in both the time trial and road race disciplines.