Caribbean News
JAMAICA: National Honour for Distinguished Clergyman – Pastor Aston Barnes
#Kingston, October 22, 2018 – Jamaica – ‘A man of many trades and master of them all’ aptly characterizes Pastor Aston Archibald Barnes, who has given invaluable service and countless support to the West Indies Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and communities in south Manchester.
He has worn many hats, serving as pastor; financial controller and advisor; auditor; community activist; author; philanthropist; teacher; and businessman and, in the process, has transformed many lives and revolutionized the operations in the entities and sectors he has been a part of over the years.
In recognition of his sterling contributions to the clergy, social development, welfare and philanthropy, Pastor Barnes was duly conferred with the Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer (OD) at the annual ceremony of investiture and presentation of National Honours and Awards at King’s House on National Heroes Day, Monday, October 15.
Pastor Barnes tells JIS News that he was surprised when informed of his selection for the prestigious award.
“I was not expecting it, as I did not do these things for recognition and praises. I just decided to work hard and never try to push myself to get anything [in return],” he humbly states.
Pastor Barnes has served the Seventh-day Adventist [SDA] Church and West Indies Union Conference in various capacities over the past 65 years.
Between the 1950s and 1970s, he worked at West Indies College [WIC, now Northern Caribbean University {NCU}] in Manchester as a Mathematics teacher and Chairman of the Business Administration Department.
During the period, he twice took time off to study Business Administration at WIC, and Howard University in the United States of America.
“My first job was to teach Mathematics at West Indies College and on my return from Howard University, I became Chairman of the Business Administration Department, and with this position, I also taught Business Law, Economics and Accounting,” Pastor Barnes informs.
I
n 1970, he demitted his posts at the College to take up duties as auditor for the West Indies Union, which incorporated Jamaica, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos Islands.
Pastor Brown was also responsible for auditing West Indies College, Andrews Memorial Hospital, the west, east, and central Jamaica SDA conferences, as well as the conferences and missions for the aforementioned islands.
With these mammoth tasks and countless responsibilities, it became challenging for him to balance work and family life as, invariably, it meant spending time away from loved ones to fulfil work obligations across Jamaica and the region.
A major development for Pastor Barnes, of which he proudly speaks, came in 1989. After 15 years of negotiating and pursuing approval, he was able to implement and manage his brainchild – the West Indies Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Capital Development Fund.
This Fund remains as a beacon in the Union, providing financing for capital expansion and improvements at low interest rates for its churches, medical and educational institutions.
In his ongoing bid to offer financial advice and support to the Union’s affiliates, Pastor Barnes was inspired to author the book – “Church Financing: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”.
“I started to search every library that I could think about to get information to help me with the awesome responsibility of being the chief financial officer for the WIU, and I could not find any material. So I decided that I should leave a book that would detail all my experiences so that the younger generation will have material to guide them,” the author further explains.
The community activist says he has always had a deep interest in the affairs and development of his childhood district, Campbell’s Castle in Manchester, and has spearheaded several fund raising activities to support the community.
“I even formed a ‘Hundred Club’ and solicited funds from persons and entities across Jamaica, the United States [and] England. I became an international solicitor and my brother also joined in the efforts to get funds to maintain the school in the area,” Pastor Barnes informs.
He further tells JIS News that: “we bought a bus to transport the children from all the remote communities, to get them to and from school safely… and this was all in an effort to develop the community”.
In November 2000, he retired from active service, but established the United Trust Fund Limited and served as its Chief Administrator.
“I formed this money lending company with my brothers by pooling our savings. So I had it registered, audited 
yearly and we filed the returns. I did this, not to make money, but to assist persons who needed some form of financial backing and support, especially members of the Adventist church,” he explains.
Now 86 years old, Pastor Barnes is still very active, preaching at the various SDA churches in Manchester, and providing support and counsel to several Boards and Associations.
“When you are accustomed to a busy life and you retire, if you do not have something to keep you active, you will die quickly. So I make it my duty to continue to give of service and offer support as much as possible,” he says.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the church and its institutions, Northern Caribbean University bestowed on him an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D) degree at its graduation exercise in August 2000. Prior to that, he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1996.
By: Kadian Brown
Release: JIS
Photo Caption: Governor General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen (left), presents former chief financial officer of the West Indies Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Pastor Aston Barnes, with the Order of Distinction – Officer Class (OD), for invaluable contribution to the ministerial fraternity, social development, welfare and philanthropy, at the 2018 National Honours and Awards ceremony held at King’s House on National Heroes Day, Monday, October 15.
Photographer: Rudranath Fraser
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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