Caribbean News
JAMAICA: MOU signed to make provisions for persons living with HIV/AIDS
#Kingston, November 26, 2019 – Jamaica – The Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Joint United Nations Programme on Human Immunodeficiency Viruses (HIV)/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) – (UNAIDS) – which will activate the Fast-Track Cities programme in Kingston.
The Fast-Track Cities initiative is a global partnership between cities and municipalities around the world with four core partners – the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC), UNAIDS, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the city of Paris.
Representatives from the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) and the Ministry of Health and Wellness signed the MOU on Monday (November 25) at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston.
The initiative was launched on World AIDS Day 2014 (December 1). Since then, the network has grown to include more than 300 cities and municipalities that are committed to attain the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets by 2020: 90 per cent of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status; 90 per cent of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy (ART) and 90 per cent of all HIV-diagnosed people receiving sustained ART will achieve viral suppression.
The initiative is also geared towards achieving zero stigma against persons living with HIV/AIDS.
Mayors and other city/municipal officials designate their cities as Fast-Track Cities by first signing the Paris Declaration on Fast-Track Cities, which outlines a set of commitments to achieve the initiative’s objectives. The city of Kingston signed the Paris Declaration on December 1, 2014.
Mayor of Kingston, His Worship, Senator Councillor, Delroy Williams, said this initiative will help to bring more “understanding” among Jamaicans about the need to fight against diseases such as HIV and help with planning for prevention.
“Understanding is critical to planning and planning is critical to desired outcomes. Understanding, for me, is a process we comprehend through the process of thought. Building the infrastructure of a resilient and healthy city requires understanding. Therefore, the process to create resilience and public health must be deliberately designed to bring the strongest ideas to the front,” Mayor Williams said.
Coordinator, Disaster Preparedness/Project Liaison, KSAMC, Terry Forrester, gave an overview of the targets for the parish of Kingston regarding the initiative.
“Through the development of a project steering committee, a work plan has been approved for Fast-Track Kingston Plus, which includes the development of a city health profile for Kingston which will be displayed on all websites, including the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation’s website, and the Ministry of Health’s website,” Ms. Forrester said.
“This will provide a comprehensive health profile for the city, which will not be limited to HIV,” she added. She said environmental sanitation will also be included in the programme, given the various challenges that exist with dengue and other vector-borne illnesses that are heavily driven by the state of the environment.
Among other objectives, the initiative seeks to: provide an overview of the Fast-Track Cities Programme in Kingston; pledge support for the implementation of the Fast-Track Cities Programme; highlight the work being done on the fight against HIV in Kingston; establishment of a framework to address the social determinants of health, including those affecting HIV; and signing of an MOU between the KSAMC and the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
Fast-Track Kingston has also taken a holistic approach for health services in the Shelter Health Programme which has been tailored for the homeless population in Kingston and St Andrew.
The MOU signing forms part of the KSAMC’s Local Government Month activities.
Contact: Ainsworth Morris
Release: JIS
Header: Mayor of Kingston, His Worship, Senator Councillor, Delroy Williams (seated right), signs Memorandum of Understanding with (from left) Chief Executive Officer, Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC), Robert Hill; and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dunstan Bryan, at the launch of the Fast-Track Cities Programme on Monday (November 25), at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston. Observing (from left) are Coordinator, Disaster Preparedness/Project Liaison, KSAMC, Terry Forrester; Director, Health Promotion and Protection, Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr. Simone Spence; Senior Medical Officer, Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr. Nicole Skyers; and Country Director, UNAIDS, Manoela Manova.
Insert: Mayor of Kingston, His Worship, Senator Councillor, Delroy Williams (right), speaks to (from left) Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dunstan Bryan; Chief Executive Officer, Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC), Robert Hill and Country Director, UNAIDS, Manoela Manova, at the launch of Fast-Track Cities Programme on Monday (November 25) at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston.
Photos: 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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