Caribbean News
Sandals Foundation Pack for a Purpose donates Back-to-School Supplies to Middle, North and South Caicos
KINGSTON, Jamaica, July 14, 2023 — Almost 500 students in the islands of Middle, North and South Caicos,
recently benefitted from back-to-school donations of Beaches Turks and Caicos resort and the Sandals Foundation. The team from the resort ventured to the islands to bring joy to the students in the eights schools on the three islands.
The first time event saw students being celebrated and recognised in separate locations at two main schools in North Caicos and at a central location in South Caicos. The 15 members of the Beaches Turks and Caicos team were provided with complimentary trips on the ferries.
“School packages distributed included school bags with notebooks, storybooks, pencils, crayons, markers, highlighters, pens, erasers, glue and other art supplies, flash cards, construction paper, folder leaves, folders, rulers, sharpeners, calculators, pencil cases, sporting supplies and educational games. All items were donated by guests of the family resort through the Pack for A Purpose initiative which encourages visitors to bring along 5 pounds of needed supplies to support local communities.”
“The kids were ecstatic to show off their new school bags with the goodies included, as well as the different activities that the Beaches Turks and Caicos team were involved in sharing. We can’t thank the Sandals Foundation enough for their efforts,” Carmencita Morley, Principal of the Charles Hubert James primary noted.
Janet Walkin, the Raymond Gardiner High school principal and team, while acting as one of the host distribution points shared, “The back-to-school treat is just a small part of what the Sandals Foundation does for our community. The students being able to receive these items before the close of the school year will help to motivate them to have a prepared mindset for the new school year. This time of the year is most ideal as parents are now able be more prepared financially for these students.”
General Manager, James McAnally shared: “Our Sandals Foundation volunteers have shown true commitment to the
tasks of sharing and building different communities. These team members have prepared these items during the evening hours after work to ensure that these students are more prepared for the new school year. The team ensured that students in these islands were able to experience the care and commitment from the Sandals Foundation and the resort. We are happy for the support received from our partners in ensuring that the logistics in preparing and delivering these gifts to these students.”
Beaches Turks and Caicos public relations manager, Orville Morgan said the Sandals Foundation team was happy to give back to a community with which it has close relationship.
Noted Morgan: “It was great to see the smile on the faces of the recipients — and hats off to all the volunteers from the resort who gave of their time to make this a reality. Children on these islands have shown the passion and
emotions from receiving these school supplies which we are confident that they are grateful for.”
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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