Caribbean News
Jamaica will not participate in Philly-based Penn Relays says Health Minister
#KINGSTON, March 12 (JIS): Jamaican schools will not be participating in this year’s staging of the Penn Relays track and field competition in the United States (US).
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon Christopher Tufton, made the announcement during a press conference at his New Kingston offices on Tuesday (March 10) where he reported Jamaica’s first imported case of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
“Cabinet took a decision last evening for the Ministry of Education [Youth and Information] to advise as it relates to Penn Relays, and schools, by now, should have been advised that the Government is taking a position to not participate in the Penn Relays this year. The travel and the location could involve levels of risk that we would like to discourage,” he said.
The Penn Relays are scheduled for April 23 to 25 in Philadelphia in the United States.
Dr. Tufton noted that as it relates to the Boys and Girls’ Championships, a meeting is scheduled among the organisers, sponsors, and the Ministers with responsibility for education, sports and health “where a decision will be taken and that decision should be taken within 24 hours”.
The Boys and Girls’ Championships are scheduled for March 24 to 28 at the National Stadium in St Andrew.
Meanwhile, Dr. Tufton is discouraging against public gatherings and non-essential travel in light of the country recording its first case of COVID-19.
He said certain decisions will be communicated regarding public gatherings and events that are on the national calendar.
Additionally, Dr. Tufton said that the country continues to track irregular border crossings, and sensitisation of key personnel at all air and sea ports will continue.
“We have designated four quarantine facilities and others will be identified, and those are being used or being prepared to be used. We are finalising the retrofitting of isolation facilities in each of the island’s public hospitals,” he noted further.
Dr. Tufton further urged the public to adhere to infection prevention and control measures, noting that “this is more important now than ever”.
These include maintaining a distance of at least one metre from persons who are coughing or sneezing; frequent and thorough washing of hands using soap and water or using a hand sanitiser; covering the mouth and nose with tissue when coughing or sneezing and then discarding it; and resisting the urge to touch the face.
For additional information, the public is encouraged to contact 888-ONE-LOVE (663-5683).
JIS NEWS by CHRIS PATTERSON
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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