Caribbean News
Debate begins in Jamaica on Land-titling System reform
#KINGSTON, April 22 (JIS): The House of Representatives on Tuesday (April 21) began debate on the Registration of Titles (Amendment) Act, 2020, which is aimed at reforming Jamaica’s land-titling system.
In his opening remarks, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, said the reform is necessary due to the large number of persons occupying land whose names are not on the titles, sometimes for generations; and the need to modernise, as well as enhance administrative structures to simplify processes and reduce costs.
He further noted that the desired outcomes include increased security of tenure and a more efficient and systematic land-titling system.
“Consequently, the Bill seeks to give effect to the policy decision for implementation of an adjudication-centric and driven process for proving the ownership of land and the separation of the processes of planning and subdivision approval from the issuing of titles, under the Registration of Titles Cadastral Mapping and Tenure Clarification (Special Provisions) Act,” Mr. Vaz said.
Other outcomes include consequentially amending the Limitation of Actions Act to provide that, where boundaries are adjudicated upon and pursuant to a systematic registration process, are deemed to be acquiesced, notwithstanding any enactment to the contrary and provided the parties do not object to same.
Regarding sections of the Bill, Clause three seeks to amend Section 15 of the Act by inserting paragraph (d), which empowers the Registrar of Titles (hereinafter “Registrar”) to lodge caveats for: the protection of Trusts; and the protection of a charge for outstanding property taxes that may be applicable to any land that is the subject of the proposed section 28A (1) (b).
“The lands, subject to section 28A(1)(b), are those that the applications for registered titles were reviewed by an Adjudication Committee, which issued an Adjudication Certificate under the Registration of Titles Cadastral Mapping and Tenure Clarification (Special Provisions) Act,” Mr. Vaz said.
In addition, clause four seeks to insert Sections 28A and 28B in the Act. Mr. Vaz said the proposed Section 28A(1) seeks to provide for applications to be made to obtain registered titles without reference to the Referee of Titles where a Certificate of Compliance is issued under the Facilities for Titles Act and the applicant or his personal representative is named in the said Certificate of Compliance; an Adjudication Certificate is issued [under the] Registration of Titles Cadastral Mapping and Tenure Clarification (Special Provisions) Act by the Director of Adjudication Services or the Adjudication Committee directing that the Registrar of Titles shall issue an absolute or qualified title; and pursuant to a Court Order under which the court has determined ownership.
Clause 10 of the Bill seeks to amend Section 178 of the Act. The effect of this amendment is to increase the maximum value of the monetary penalty for offences under the Act.
Mr. Vaz said the proposed amendment empowers the Parish Court to impose on a convicted offender a fine of up to $1 million instead of the existing maximum of $1,000.
The proposed amendment also prescribes a term of imprisonment of up to six months in default of the payment of the fine, and prescribes that any certificate of title, entry, erasure or alteration so procured or made by fraud shall be void as against all parties or persons privy to such fraud.
Meanwhile, debate also started on the companion legislation, entitled, Registration of Titles Cadastral Mapping and Tenure Clarification (Special Provisions) (Amendment) Act, 2020.
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Land-titling System…3
The Bill seeks to give effect to the policy decision to provide for the full operations of the Land Administration and Management Programme processes, including the adjudication processes to fall under the responsibility of the Chief Executive Officer of the National Land Agency, and amend the Registration of Titles Cadastral Mapping and Tenure Clarification (Special Provisions) Regulations to give effect to the changes that will be made to the Act.
JIS News By LATONYA LINTON
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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