Caribbean News
FirstCaribbean International ComTrust Foundation Provides US$80,000 to CCRIF SPC to Enhance Disaster Preparedness Among Member Governments
#Bridgetown, Barbados, December 5, 2023. The FirstCaribbean International ComTrust Foundation and CCRIF SPC (formerly the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility) recently met to celebrate the Foundation’s donation of US$75,000 to help enhance rainfall monitoring systems and disaster preparedness in the Caribbean and another US$5,000 to print and disseminate additional copies of CCRIF’s children’s publication on “Hazards, Disasters and Climate Change”, developed for children ages 8 to 12 years old.
The grant of US$75,000 will be used to enable at least 4 Caribbean countries to improve their weather monitoring networks by adding automated weather systems and other equipment to their existing networks. These new automated weather systems (AWSs) will enhance these countries’ early warning systems and their ability to better prepare for hydro-meteorological events such as hurricanes and severe rainfall events throughout the year. These systems also can inform longer-term planning. AWSs can incorporate a range of sensors that can provide data to enable national meteorological services to undertake more detailed and reliable analysis of climate trends to inform national strategies on climate change and disaster risk management.
Chairperson of CCRIF’s Technical Assistance Committee; Isaac Anthony, Chief Executive Officer; and Leslie Gittens, Business Development Specialist at the ceremony commemorating the donation from FirstCaribbean International Comtrust Foundation to CCRIF.
The FirstCaribbean International ComTrust Foundation is a registered charity which was established in 2003, to support CIBC FirstCaribbean’s community relations programmes. The Bank makes contributions to causes within
the Caribbean in the areas of Health & Wellness, the Community & the Environment, and Youth & Education. Since its inception in October of 2002, through the ComTrust Foundation, CIBC FirstCaribbean has donated more than US$30M to worthy projects across the Caribbean.
This donation from the ComTrust Foundation will support an existing initiative currently being implemented by CCRIF that focuses on providing much needed assistance to its member governments to enhance their AWS networks. In 2020, CCRIF worked with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) to undertake a situational analysis to determine if there were existing gaps in rainfall measuring networks of its member governments and the extent of these gaps.
According to Isaac Anthony, CCRIF’s Chief Executive Officer, “The Situational Analysis, which assessed the rainfall measuring network of 19 of CCRIF member governments, indicated that only 5 Caribbean countries have over 70 per cent of the recommended level of AWS coverage. The minimum coverage was 10 per cent of optimal coverage, the maximum was 90 per cent of optimal coverage, with an average of 40 per cent of optimal coverage across the countries”. Having reviewed the report, the CCRIF Board took the decision to provide support under its Technical Assistance Programme to member countries in the region to strengthen their network of automated weather stations (AWSs). CCRIF also reached out to the FirstCaribbean International ComTrust Foundation based on the goals of the Foundation to determine if this was an area that they would be willing to provide support for. The rest is history!
To date, CCRIF has assisted 4 countries (Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Cayman Islands), providing them with approximately US$250,000 in support to improve and expand their rainfall data collection and measurement systems. These resources from the ComTrust Foundation will support an additional 4 countries to expand their rainfall monitoring networks. CCRIF will match these resources from ComTrust to support another 4 countries in the region. By the middle of 2024, 12 countries in the Caribbean would have additional AWSs and enhanced rainfall measuring networks, which will help governments to better prepare their populations in the face of the increasing frequency and intensity of hydro-meteorological hazards.
CIBC FirstCaribbean’s CEO, Mark St. Hill, who also serves as the Chairman of the ComTrust Foundation, noted: “Our bank is committed to maintaining strong environmental standards and to conducting our activities in an environmentally and socially responsible manner that contributes to long-term value for our clients, employees, communities, and our shareholders.
Climate change has been engaging our region for some time, and our bank has established itself as a leading financial partner for stakeholders seeking to address the issue. We actively seek to support the Caribbean region’s transition to a low-carbon economy and advancing of sustainability and climate resiliency initiatives in the territories in which we operate.”
The “Hazards, Disasters and Climate Change” booklet allows children to learn about the different types of hazards that affect the Caribbean; actions to take before, during and after these natural hazard events; climate change; and how to take care of our natural environment. Since its first publication in 2021, CCRIF has distributed over 2,000 copies to schools, ministries of education, disaster preparedness and management agencies, public libraries, and civil society organizations throughout the region. The booklet is also available in French and can also be accessed via the CCRIF website at: https://www.ccrif.org/publications/booklet/booklet-ccrif-spc-hazards-disasters-climate-change-primary-level-kids .
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.
Caribbean News
Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts celebrate a night of wins, and take home a total of 16 titles at the 32nd Annual World Travel Awards
-
world news1 week ago80% of the World’s Poor Face Climate Hazards — UNDP Sounds Alarm
-
TCI News6 days agoFrontier Airlines’ Arrival to Turks & Caicos Marks a Game-Changing Connection
-
TCI News1 week agoBeaches Turks and Caicos Celebrates TCI National Heritage Day with investment in youth and culture
-
TCI News1 week agoInvest Turks and Caicos Unveils Categories for The MSMES “A Celebration of Excellence”
-
Uncategorized1 week agoISU Supports Successful Multiagency Demolition Exercise in Blue Hills
-
USA6 days agoNarco-Terrorist Take Down by US Gutting Caribbean Gang-Crime
-
TCI News1 week agoTurks & Caicos Police Commissioner Urges Students to “Awaken Their Sleeping Giants”
-
TCI News3 days agoHURRICANE MELISSA: NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTIONS