Caribbean News
Churches invited to Celebrate women this past Sunday
Jamaica, March 14, 2017 – Kingston – Churches were invited to dedicate their services on Sunday, March 12 to celebrating women, in support of the Government’s renewed thrust to eliminate gender-based violence.
The call came from Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Minister, Hon. Olivia Grange, as she led an advocacy march in New Kingston on Wednesday, March 8, which was commemorated as International Women’s Day under the theme: ‘Unite to End Gender-based Violence’. “We are encouraging churches all across Jamaica to host their women and to carry the message that we want to end gender-based violence. Sunday will be a day of prayer when we celebrate all that is good about our women,” the Minister said.
Ms. Grange headed the guests that attended a national church service this past Sunday that culminated activities marking International Women’s Day. This was scheduled for Faith Cathedral Deliverance Church, 104 Waltham Park Road, Kingston, and began at 8:30 a.m. The sermon was delivered by senior pastor, Rev. Alma Blair.
Wednesday’s march, which took participants from Emancipation Park in New Kingston along Trafalgar Road and back, was part of activities held over five days to mark International Women’s Day. The participants carried placards displaying various messages addressing the issue of gender-based violence.
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, was among the scores of concerned Jamaicans which participated in the event. Prior to the march, he hosted a group of the society’s women leaders at a luncheon at Jamaica House.
France’s Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Jean-Michel Despax, who said he did so to show his country’s support for the rights of women also participated in the event. “I think it is important for us to show Jamaica that we are all on board and that it is not only an issue in Jamaica, but also in France and Europe. We have to show that we share common values and we want to fight for the rights of women, wherever they are,” he said.
Ms. Grange told JIS News that the march was a way of “demonstrating our commitment…that we are united in our fight to end gender-based violence against our women, our boys and our girls”. The day culminated with a free concert at Emancipation Park featuring several of Jamaica’s popular performing artistes. They included: Marcia Griffiths, Tony Rebel, Queen Ifrica, Tarrus Riley and Judy Mowatt.
#WomensDayMarch #Celebratewomen #OliviaGrange
By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media
October 14, 2025 – It’s being called political theatre — but for citizens, constitutional watchdogs, and democracy advocates across the Caribbean, it feels far more serious. Within a single week, two national parliaments — in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis — descended into turmoil as opposition members stormed out in protest, accusing their Speakers of bias, overreach, and abuse of parliamentary procedure.
For observers, the walkouts signal a deeper problem: erosion of trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard democracy. When Speakers are viewed as political enforcers instead of neutral referees, parliaments stop functioning as chambers of debate and start performing as stages for power and spectacle — with citizens left wondering who, if anyone, is still accountable.
October 6: St. Kitts Parliament Erupts
The first walkout erupted in Basseterre on October 6, 2025, when Dr. Timothy Harris, former Prime Minister and now Opposition Leader,
led his team out of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly in a protest that stunned the chamber.
The flashpoint came as the Speaker moved to approve more than three years’ worth of unratified parliamentary minutes in one sitting — covering 27 meetings and three national budgets — without individual review or debate.
Dr. Harris called the move “a flagrant breach of the Constitution and parliamentary tradition,” warning that the practice undermines transparency and accountability. “No serious parliament can go years without approving a single set of minutes,” he said after exiting the chamber.
The Speaker defended the decision as administrative housekeeping, but critics were unconvinced, branding the move a “world record disgrace.” The opposition’s walkout triggered renewed calls for the Speaker’s resignation and sparked a wider public discussion about record-keeping, accountability, and respect for parliamentary norms in St. Kitts and Nevis.
October 10: Trinidad Opposition Follows Suit
Four days later, on October 10, 2025, the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) in Trinidad and Tobago staged its own walkout from the House of Representatives in Port of Spain.
The UNC accused the Speaker of partisan bias, claiming she had repeatedly blocked urgent questions, ignored points of order, and allowed government members to breach standing orders without consequence.
“The Speaker has failed in her duty to act impartially,” the Opposition declared in a statement. “Parliament is not the property of any political party or Presiding Officer.”
The dramatic exit was seen as a culmination of months of rising tension and frustration, with opposition MPs arguing that parliamentary rules were being selectively applied to silence dissenting voices.
Political analyst Dr. Marcia Ferdinand described the twin walkouts as “a warning sign that parliamentary democracy in the Caribbean is teetering on the edge of performative politics.”
“When chairs become political shields rather than constitutional referees,” she said, “democracy becomes theatre, not governance.”
A Pattern Emerging
While St. Kitts and Trinidad are very different political environments, both incidents point to the same regional fault line: the perception that Speakers — the guardians of parliamentary order — are no longer impartial.
In Westminster-style systems like those across the Caribbean, the Speaker’s authority depends not on power but on public confidence in fairness. Once that credibility erodes, parliamentary control collapses into confrontation.
Governance experts say the implications are serious: eroded trust between government and opposition, declining public confidence in state institutions, and growing voter cynicism that “rules” are flexible tools of political advantage.
Why It Matters
Parliamentary walkouts are not new in the Caribbean, but what makes these recent events different is their frequency and intensity — and
the regional echo they’ve created. Social media has amplified images of lawmakers storming out, with citizens from Barbados to Belize questioning whether the same erosion of decorum could be happening in their own legislatures.
Analysts warn that if this perception takes hold, it risks diminishing the moral authority of parliamentary democracy itself.
“Once opposition MPs believe the rules are rigged, and once citizens believe Parliament is just performance,” said one Caribbean governance researcher, “you’ve lost the most valuable currency in democracy — trust.”
Restoring Balance
Political reformers across the region are calling for tighter Standing Order enforcement, independent parliamentary service commissions, and training to strengthen Speaker neutrality. Civil society leaders say the public must also play its part by demanding transparency and refusing to normalize partisan manipulation of parliamentary procedure.
Whether these twin walkouts become catalysts for reform — or simply another episode of Caribbean political theatre — will depend on what happens next inside those chambers.
For now, democracy watchers agree on one thing: when opposition leaders feel the only way to be heard is to walk out, the entire democratic house — not just its Speaker — is in danger of collapse.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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