(Kaieteur News) – Transparency Institute Guyana Inc (TIGI) has cast aside the assurances by President Irfaan Ali that an “independent” Commission of Inquiry (COI) will be conducted into the fatal capsizing of the MV Barima vessel on July 18.

In a lengthy statement to the media on Monday morning, the transparency body made its position clear, “the appointment of non-Guyanese commissioners is not the same thing as an independent process. The Commission was constituted without consultation. Neither the parliamentary opposition, nor the National Toshaos Council, nor the affected communities of Region One, nor civil society were consulted on the composition of this body.”

As such TIGI said this commission does not enjoy its confidence. On Sunday, President Ali announced a five-member commission, comprising international experts, to investigate the circumstances that led to the capsizing of the vessel and related actitivities, including search and rescue operations.