Caribbean News
JAMAICA: 120 exhibitors to showcase products at ‘Christmas in July’
#Kingston, July 16, 2019 – Jamaica – Some 120 local producers of authentic Jamaican gift and souvenir items will showcase their products and network with corporate entities and various industry players at the fifth staging of ‘Christmas in July’.
The event, hosted by the Tourism Linkages Network and its partners, is slated for July 18 at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston. Activities will get under way at 9:00 a.m. with an opening ceremony, and the exhibition floor will open to the public at 1:00 p.m.
On display will be traditional souvenir items of all kinds; corporate, home and decorative accessories; desktop solutions; specialty foods and aromatherapy/spa products.
Giving details about this year’s staging, Head of the Tourism Linkages Network, Carolyn McDonald Riley, said that the event provides opportunities for small manufacturers to be able to supply not just corporate Jamaica but the gift industry, with unique Jamaican items.
She noted that the annual staging of Christmas in July provides the opportunity for producers to showcase their offerings to corporate Jamaica, the tourism industry, the missions and embassies.
“We would like, especially, persons who are able to purchase in bulk to make their order early… . We have available gift solutions to suit corporate offices, pharmacies, gift shops, our hotel industry and our diplomatic missions,” Mrs. McDonald Riley noted.
She said that activities for this year’s staging include a ‘Style Jamaica Pop Up Fashion Show’ which will feature jewellery, bags and accessories made by local artisans.
“Also for this staging, each buyer will get a ‘Christmas in July passport’ which will allow them to track who they wish to order from… so buyers will not only look at the items on display but will have information on the various producers and items that have piqued their interest and who they would want to purchase from,” Mrs. McDonald Riley explained.
An online catalogue will also be available by October for persons to view products and place orders.
Christmas in July is a collaborative effort of the Tourism Linkages Network and its partners, Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association (JMEA), Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), and Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA).
The mission of the linkages network is to position and assist the tourism sector to increase its demand for and consumption of goods and services that can be competitively sourced in Jamaica.
The primary goal is to ensure that Jamaica’s tourism sector becomes better integrated with local opportunities for other sectors, such as entertainment, agriculture and manufacturing.
Contact: Kadian Brown
Release: JIS
Photo Caption: Head of the Tourism Linkages Network, Carolyn McDonald Riley.
Photographer: Michael Sloley
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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