Caribbean News
Statement by the Premier of the Virgin Islands (British) on Regional Trade and Opportunities
Road Town, October 24, 2019 – Tortola – Premier of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Andrew A Fahie, has signaled his intention to strengthen ties with the rest of the Caribbean Community, noting that there will be business and job opportunities in his country due to an aggressive development thrust.
Premier Andrew Fahie
In a statement on October 23, Fahie called on local and regional entrepreneurs and innovators to use apply their creativity to identify the business opportunities that will be emerging as development on the British Overseas Territory takes off, so that they can tap into those opportunities.
“My message to local and regional business interests is to prepare yourselves. If your venture requires a foreign partner, find one now and start the process. If you are foreign based and you have something the BVI needs, make your BVI connection. There is a lot of work to be done and a lot of opportunities for getting involved,” Fahie said.
Two years after being devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the BVI has made significant strides in recovery and is working on a development programme that will make its infrastructure, economy and people more resilient to sudden and dramatic events in the tourism and financial services industry, which are its two main economic engines. Fahie, whose Virgin Islands Party (VIP) won the general election last February, is looking to increase the country’s revenue from those two sectors, while encouraging the development of new industries that will diversify the BVIs economy.
The implementation of economic substance legislation, coupled with the BVI’s tourism strategy, is driving up rivals into the country. The BVI Government has also indicated its intention to diversify its tourism thrust into areas such as hosting meetings, conferences, training, education, medical services and other sporting events besides its annual regattas.
This growth is driving a demand for goods and services, and Fahie says while his primary goal is to ensure that BVIslanders and local businesses benefit as much as possible from this activity, excess demand will have to be supplemented with help from outside – starting with the BVI’s CARICOM neighbours who face similar challenges and circumstances.
“Our CARICOM neighbours have a lot to offer in terms of manufactured goods, professional services, skilled labour and partnerships that will have mutual benefits. The Caribbean region is very strong if our countries and our people work together,” Fahie said, adding that he intends to invite regional government and business leaders to examine the dynamics of opening up intra-regional trade.
“We will be reaching out to the leaders in the region and business organizations to let them know that the BVI is serious about doing business and we are open for business. We need lumber, aggregates, construction materials, foodstuff and other products, which can be easily accessed by establishing an ocean freight trade route from Guyana, through Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent, Dominica, the Virgin Islands and also Jamaica. A rising tide will lift all boats, and the BVI will take the lead in developing this,” he said.
He added, “Our mission today must be to spark a transformation locally and regionally and create an environment where all of our people enjoy a high quality of life, characterized by a feeling of reasonable happiness, comfort and security; where they occupy sustainable jobs in the careers of their choosing; where our people, especially the young ones, have easy access to the opportunities for education, training and development so that they can pursue their dreams; and where they can get high value for their earnings.”
The BVI, known as “Nature’s Little Secrets”, is a cluster of about 50 islands and cays located just east of Puerto Rico. It has the reputation of being one of the more prosperous states in the Caribbean and Latin America region. It boasts a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $1.027 billion (2017 est.) with an estimated per capita GDP of $34,246. As one of the most popular vacation destinations in the world, the BVI attracts over 1 million tourists annually including about 400,000 overnight visitors, due to its pristine beaches, scenic locations, and its ideal location for sailing, snorkeling and diving. The BVI is considered the sailing capital of the world and a very popular destination for Old Years’ Night parties.
Release: BVI Government
Photo Caption: Road Town, Tortola two years after hurricane Irma
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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