Caribbean News
CHTA urges travelers to vacation in the Caribbean and help victims of Hurricane Dorian
#Miami, FL, September 16, 2019 – USA – From Aruba to Jamaica and The Bahamas to Bermuda, hotels and resorts have joined with the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) to launch an online action to help support the long-term recovery of the northwestern islands of the Bahamas.
Lovers of the Caribbean as well as those who are looking to fall in love with the Caribbean for the first time will have many destinations and hotels to choose from as they shop and bid on vacation options, while helping those in need, according to CHTA’s President, Barbados-based hotelier Patricia Affonso-Dass.
She thanked hotels and resorts throughout the Caribbean basin, and a resort as far afield as Austria for donating room stays which the travelling public can bid on through the Charitybuzz online fundraising portal.
The public is urged to shop, bid and show their support by visiting www.charitybuzz.com/CaribbeanHotelsForBahamas.
“We are thankful for the contributions of our hotel and resort partners to assist the people of The Bahamas during this very difficult period,” said Affonso-Dass, who also invited the public to support the cause and enjoy the opportunity to travel to the Caribbean, including parts of The Bahamas which were unaffected by Dorian.
Hurricane Dorian unleashed unimaginable destruction to The Abacos and Grand Bahama, destroying critical infrastructure, thousands of homes and businesses, and uprooting the lives of tens of thousands of residents, who are now homeless.
“The recovery will be long and painful,” said Frank Comito, CHTA’s Director General and CEO, who noted that many hoteliers have come together to offer an array of accommodation options to one of the world’s most desirable travel destinations. “Whether you are shopping for a romantic escape, a family gathering, a business retreat, a personal getaway or a holiday gift, there’s much to choose from – all while helping to support people in need,” he said.
“Caribbean Hotels Unite for The Bahamas” is a joint fundraising initiative between CHTA and the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) to bring relief to the people of The Abacos and Grand Bahama, who have been seriously impacted by Hurricane Dorian. The funds raised will be made available to meet the most urgent needs identified by CHTA and BHTA.
A former Bahamian resident, Comito, who was Executive Vice President for BHTA for over 10 years and served in a similar capacity before that with the Nassau Tourism Development Board, reminded the traveling public that most of The Bahamas escaped serious damage from the hurricane.
“Nassau, Paradise Island, The Exumas, Eleuthera, Andros, Cat Island, Bimini, San Salvador, Rum Cay, Long Island, Acklins/Crooked Island, Ragged Island, Mayaguana and Inagua each present great travel options for the public as do more than 30 other destinations throughout the Caribbean,” added Comito.
“The best way to help The Bahamas is to travel to The Bahamas,” he said.
Bidding on hotel stays is open to the public at:
www.charitybuzz.com/CaribbeanHotelsForBahamas
CHTA is still accepting donated room stays. Hotels interested in pledging a 3- to 7-night vacation package to be auctioned through Charitybuzz, can email information@caribbeanhotelandtourism.com or call +1 305 443-3040.
For details on other ways people can help, visit the following sites:
http://www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com/hurricane-resources
https://www.bahamas.com/relief .
About the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA)
The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is the Caribbean’s leading association representing the interests of national hotel and tourism associations. For more than 50 years, CHTA has been the backbone of the Caribbean hospitality industry. Working with some 1,000 hotel and allied members, and 33 National Hotel Associations, CHTA is shaping the Caribbean’s future and helping members to grow their businesses. Whether helping to navigate critical issues in sales and marketing, sustainability, legislative issues, emerging technologies, climate change, data and intelligence or, looking for avenues and ideas to better market and manage businesses, CHTA is helping members on issues which matter most.
For further information, visit www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com
Release: CHTA
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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