MP wants livestreaming of MV Barima COI hearing

(Kaieteur News) – Member of Parliament and Leader of the Forward Guyana Movement, Amanza Walton, has issued a formal appeal to the Chairman and Members of the Commission of Inquiry into the capsizing and sinking of the M/V Barima, calling on the panel to immediately reverse its decision prohibiting the livestreaming of public hearings at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

In a letter addressed to the Commission, Walton argued that restricting proceedings to physical attendees severely disadvantages the families of victims, many of whom reside in remote Region One communities such as Port Kaituma and Mabaruma, as well as the wider Guyanese public and diaspora.

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“While the Commission has opened its proceedings to members of the public who wish to attend, public access must be practical and not merely theoretical,” Walton stated. “Many of the families directly affected reside in Region One. For them, attendance involves considerable travel, accommodation expenses, lost earnings, and disruption to family life… No family should be forced to choose between its livelihood and hearing how its loved ones died.”