Caribbean News
JAMAICA: Hundreds to benefit from visit of US Navy Hospital Ship
#Kingston, October 29, 2019 – Jamaica – Hundreds of Jamaicans are expected to benefit from the nine-day medical mission of the United States (US) Navy Hospital Ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) from October 28 to November 1.
It is anticipated that 150 surgeries will be conducted on board the ship, which is currently docked at Victoria pier, downtown Kingston. These include ophthalmology, orthopedic, oral maxillofacial, wound care, urology, and plastic and general surgery. Basic medical services will also be provided at walk-in sites at Sabina Park and the Greater Portmore Health Centre.
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, toured the ship on Monday (October 28), where he spoke with the doctors, nurses and other professionals who are offering their service, and thanked them for their partnership with Jamaica on this initiative.
“I am very impressed with what I saw. This is a facility that has nearly 900 beds, 100 intensive care unit (ICU) beds, over 1,000 staff members covering medical staff to support team. It’s a self-sufficient vessel producing its own oxygen, water, etcetera, and, of course, critical to all of this, are men and women, who are from different countries throughout the world, who are professionals, who go around the world and provide medical care to citizens of the world,” Dr. Tufton said.
“The facilities are very modern and the care is top-notch; it’s excellent care and I want the opportunity to thank those who are managing this process as well as the support staff,” he added.
Senior citizen from Kingston, Hylton Gordon, who was brought by family members to Sabina Park for free medical assessment and treatment after complaining of various ailments, said he was pleased with the treatment given to him.
“My eyes are not seeing well. I was tested right through. I got some tablets for my weakness. I trust that when I take the medication, I will start to feel much better,” Mr. Gordon told JIS News.
Another patient, Nadine Tucker, also expressed pleasure about the care received. I thank them for it. This is a good thing for Jamaica,” she said.
USNS Comfort has been on a five-month deployment since June to countries in Central America, South America and the Caribbean in support of humanitarian and partner-building efforts as part of the US Southern Command’s Enduring Promise initiative.
For this deployment, members on the ship and crew will be providing medical assistance to Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, Peru, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as conduct logistics and liberty port visits to Panama and Curaçao.
The administrators of the ship are working with health and government partners in the beneficiary countries to provide care on the ship and at land-based medical sites, while helping to relieve pressure on the local medical facilities.
Since 2007, personnel involved in USNS Comfort deployments have treated more than 488,000 patients, performed 5,500 surgeries, completed over 100 engineering projects, and conducted countless other assistance activities. It is the ship’s third mission to Jamaica.
Contact: Ainsworth Morris
Release: JIS
Photo: Michael Sloely
Photo Captions:
Header: Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (second right), is being briefed by Lieutenant Commander Gustavo Lores (right), during a tour of one of the operating theatres inside the United States (US) Navy Hospital Ship, USNS Comfort, on Monday (October 28), which is docked at Victoria pier, Kingston. Director of Emergency, Disaster Management and Special Services, Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr. Nicole Dawkins-Wright (left); and Director, Risk Management, Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr. Lambert Innis, were also on the tour.
1st Insert: Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (right), speaks with senior citizen Hylton Gordon, who received treatment by doctors from the United States (US) Navy Hospital Ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) at Sabina Park, Kingston, on Monday (October 28).
2nd Insert: Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (left), engages with little Cimanda Tucker (right), while she waited with family members to see doctors from the United States (US) Navy Hospital Ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), at Sabina Park, Kingston, on Monday (October 28).
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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