Caribbean News
JAMAICA: Government committed to creating ownership society
#Kingston, October 12, 2018 – Jamaica – Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the Government is committed to creating an 
ownership economy that facilitates greater participation by Jamaicans in activities designed to spur higher levels of growth and development. This, he said, is being pursued through public-private partnerships (PPP).
He noted that the Government has already successfully implemented a number of PPPs through collaboration with foreign investors, citing the Kingston Container Terminal (KCT), Sangster International Airport (SIA), and Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA). He said that while the success of these agreements has resulted in a heightening of Jamaica’s profile globally as an ideal location for investments, the Government wants more local investor input.
“We believe we have investors here who can compete with international investors… and win. I encourage our local investors to step up to the plate as well. The Government wants the people of Jamaica to own the economy and participate in [its] ownership,” the Prime Minister said. He was speaking at the NMIA PPP concession agreement signing at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) on Wednesday (October 10).
The Government has divested the management of NMIA’s operations to Mexican entity, Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico SAB. De CV (GAP), under a 25-year concession agreement, with an option to extend the arrangement by five years.
GAP, which has also been managing the SIA since 2003, will be responsible for improving NMIA’s land and air operational efficiency, and financing and completing a modernization programme at an estimated cost of more than U$110 million. Additionally, the Government will receive a guaranteed percentage of the airport’s gross revenues.
GAP emerged as the preferred of three bidders, inclusive of two consortia of foreign and local investors. The entity’s selection followed a public opening and evaluation and Cabinet’s subsequent approval in September of the submissions received by the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) in July. The transaction value for GAP’s bid totals in excess of US$2 billion.
GAP has concession management agreements, some for 50 years, for 13 airports in Mexico.
“We will be faithful to what we have agreed to… and I have no doubt that our friends, who will now be operating the NMIA will proceed in good faith with the agreement,” Mr. Holness said.
“The Government will follow the legal and regulatory process… and be vigilant [to] ensure that the public’s interest is preserved… . That is an assurance that we give to the people of Jamaica,” he added.
Since 2009, the Government has successfully privatized over 20 State assets, which also included Caymanas Track Limited and the Petroleum Company of Jamaica (PETCOM).
Mr. Holness advised that the Administration will shortly announce details of other potential investment opportunities that will be facilitated through PPPs and other divestment engagements. He emphasized that the Government’s role in this dispensation is providing a strong regulatory framework, and assured that the Administration will be vigilant in ensuring that the terms of agreements reached are met and maintained.
Release: JIS
Contact: Douglas McIntosh
Photo Caption: Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (left), shakes hands with Board member of Mexican entity, Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico SAB. De CV (GAP), Carlos Rohm (centre), following the signing of the 25-year Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) concession agreement at the Office of the Prime Minister on October 10. Sharing in the moment (from second left) are Transport and Mining Minister, Hon. Robert Montague; President and Chief Executive Officer, Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ), Audley Deidrick; and GAP Chief Executive Officer, Raul Revuelta Musalem.
Michael Sloley Photo
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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