Caribbean News
Jamaica: National Enhanced Dengue Intervention Program rolled out in St. Ann
Montego Bay, 28 November, 2019 – Jamaica – The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), on Tuesday (November 26), commenced removing bulky waste from the parish of St. Ann under the National Enhanced Dengue Intervention Programme.
The Programme is being implemented by the Ministry of Health and Wellness across the island over the next three months at a cost of $1 billion, to support enhanced measures to contain the spread of the dengue virus.
Tuesday’s undertaking, which entailed the removal of multiple articles of bulky waste from the community of Standfast in Brown’s Town by NSWMA subsidiary North Eastern Parks and Markets (NEPM) Waste Management Limited marked the start of the initiative’s implementation in St. Ann.
The NSWMA’s Executive Director, Audley Gordon, who told JIS News that $167 million has been earmarked for this aspect of the programme, indicated that stakeholders at all levels across the parishes are being engaged.
“All the local health officials are [being] engaged. We are speaking with the municipalities, we are talking to community leaders and we are speaking with citizens whom we encounter to inform them that bulky waste [can facilitate] mosquito breeding,” he said.
The Executive Director advised that the NSWMA’s staff will be working throughout the Christmas season to remove bulky waste and, in this regard, encouraged residents to place articles they have collected at appropriate locations for removal. Mr. Gordon also appealed to individuals to take responsibility for the solid waste they generate.
“The Government of Jamaica, can and will do its part, the NSWMA must do its part, but [we as] residents must [also] do our part. We must properly containerise our garbage… so that it is not scattered everywhere, [as] that [will give rise to] problems with mosquitos, rats, flies and all the other things that we find offensive,” he emphasised.
For her part, Medical Officer of Health for St. Ann, Dr. Tamika Henry, indicated that “we are very happy with this partnership”, noting that the programme will aid in efforts to reduce mosquito breeding sites across the parish. She advised that the parish’s vector control education programme has been ramped up, “because people need to understand what is happening, [ascertain] what they need to do and how they can assist us in preventing the spread of dengue”.
Dr. Henry also indicated that the St. Ann Health Department has been conducting home visitations to search for and destroy mosquito breeding sites as well as enlighten residents on how to do same.
Other communities in the parish where similar clean-up activities are slated over the coming months include Watt Town, Lime Hall, Claremont, and their environs.
Under the National Enhanced Dengue Intervention Programme, which involves several other State agencies, the NSWMA has been tasked with ramping up the removal of solid waste, especially bulky waste, from communities.
Contact: Serena Grant
Release: JIS
Photo Captions:
Header: Executive Director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), Audley Gordon, (right), highlights issues associated with bulky solid waste that is not properly containerised for disposal, to resident of Standfast in Brown’s Town, St. Ann, Desmond Minto, during Tuesday’s (November 26) clean-up exercise in the community, which was conducted by North Eastern Parks and Markets (NEPM) Waste Management Limited, under the National Enhanced Dengue Intervention Programme.
Insert: Staff of North Eastern Parks and Markets (NEPM) Waste Management Limited remove bulky waste from the community of Standfast in Brown’s Town, St. Ann, during Tuesday’s (November 26) clean-up exercise which was conducted under the National Enhanced Dengue Intervention Programme.
Serena Grant Photos
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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