ATTORNEY General Anil Nandlall, SC, has rejected claims that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government’s nationwide outreaches are intended to divert public attention from the MV Barima tragedy.
Nandlall addressed the issue during his weekly programme, ‘Issues in the News,’ while responding to a report published by Kiskadee Watch which suggested that the government was holding outreaches across the country as a means of shifting focus away from the tragedy surrounding the sinking of the MV Barima.
Rejecting the claim, Nandlall said public outreaches have long been part of the PPP/C’s political and governmental activities and were not introduced in response to the disaster.
He said the PPP/C’s connection with communities across Guyana is rooted in its political philosophy and maintained that outreach activities have remained a permanent feature of the party’s work, both when it is in government and when it is in opposition.
“Outreaches, whether as a collective or by individual ministers, is a permanent feature of our work as a government and as our work as a political party,” Nandlall said.
He pointed specifically to Cabinet outreaches, which he said involve the entire Cabinet, Members of Parliament and senior government officials travelling to different regions to spend several days meeting residents in their communities.
According to Nandlall, such activities date back to the administration of former President and PPP founder Dr. Cheddi Jagan and have continued over the years.
He emphasised, “Cabinet outreaches have been part of Cheddi Jagan’s Cabinet since 1992, and it has never stopped. It has never stopped.”
Nandlall also sought to use the timing of recent outreaches to dispute the suggestion that they were organised to distract from the MV Barima disaster.
He said the government conducted a Cabinet outreach in Region Six in November 2025, followed by another in Region Three in December 2025 and one in Region Seven in June 2026.
The MV Barima sank after those activities had already taken place, Nandlall noted.
The Attorney General said the timing demonstrated that cabinet outreaches were part of an established programme rather than a response to the maritime tragedy.
Nandlall further maintained that individual ministers regularly travel throughout the country to engage residents, describing such engagements as an established component of the government’s approach to interacting with communities.
He said the PPP/C has continued the practice of conducting outreaches both collectively and through individual ministers, arguing that the programme predates the MV Barima tragedy.
The Attorney General’s comments came as public discussion continued over the government’s response to the MV Barima disaster and the activities being undertaken by officials across the country.
Nandlall said the government’s community outreach programme should therefore be viewed within the context of its long-standing political and administrative practices rather than as an effort to divert attention from the tragedy.
The government-owned and operated MV Barima sank on the night of July 18, 2026, approximately 10 nautical miles off the Essequibo coast while en route from Georgetown to Port Kaituma in Region One.
Authorities later determined that an estimated 179 people, including crew members, were aboard the vessel, significantly more than the 133 persons listed on the manifest.
The tragedy claimed the lives of 73 people, while 76 persons were rescued. Thirty people remain missing, making it the deadliest maritime disaster in Guyana’s history.
Meanwhile, the criminal investigation into the disaster is proceeding alongside the Commission of Inquiry (CoI). Captain Kevin Price, Chief Mate Rondell Dwayne Roberts and Cargo Superintendent Delon Granderson have each been charged with murder in connection with the sinking of the MV Barima.
The three were further remanded to prison when they appeared earlier this month before Magistrate Ravindra Mohabir at the Charity Magistrate’s Court and are due to return to court on September 7.
Following the disaster, Prime Minister, retired Brigadier Mark Phillips, disclosed that two crew members, including the captain, had tested positive for marijuana.
