Jul 26, 2026 Editorial, News

(Kaieteur News) – Say Commission of Inquiry (COI) now, and everyone knows there will be one. Say COI at this time, and all citizens know that it is related to the death of the MV Barima, many deaths. Guyana will have a COI, no doubt about that. The question is what kind of COI they will get. When the past is checked for precedent, it is over: COIs that have been whitewashes, COIs not worth the name, COIs that have been a waste of time. Another false dawn, more fake news.

President Irfaan Ali has promised a COI. A ‘full, thorough, and independent’ investigation into the MV Barima tragedy. On paper that should inspire some confidence. It is the nation’s head-of-state who committed, so that should guarantee what he committed to: a COI that is sweeping, that is probing, and that is untainted by prejudiced minds and stained hands. This is part of the problem that we at this paper have. The president has promised the world before, only to walk back, in some smooth way, and leave the country hanging: unfinished business. He did so with the ExxonMobil-Guyana oil contract of 2016, all contracts to be reviewed, then dodged from delivering.