Caribbean News
GOV’T REINVESTING IN MINING COMMUNITIES
KINGSTON, May 9 (JIS):
The Government continues to reinvest earnings from the bauxite industry into communities impacted by mining, says Director of Bauxite Lands at the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI), Kemoy Lindsay.
He said that through the Bauxite Community Development Programme (BCDP), established in 1996, funding and technical support are being provided for the development of sustainable initiatives in mining areas.
“Infrastructure, healthcare, road repairs, skills training and all facets of social development are taken care of. Since 1996, the JBI, through the BCDP has implemented over 350 projects totalling close to one billion dollars, representing bauxite money being directly rechannelled into the communities. And, over the 28 years, we have impacted more than half a million residents in bauxite communities,” Mr. Lindsay informed.
He was addressing a National Minerals Week Mining/Minerals Sector Conference at Northern Caribbean University (NCU) in Mandeville on May 6.
Agriculture, which is the mainstay in most of the communities, has received the largest portion of the support.
Since the BCDP’s inception, the funding injected into farming has increased by seven to 10 per cent.
In Manchester, the projects undertaken include the construction of two classrooms at Kendal All-Age, expansion of the New Green Basic School, building of a computer lab and art block at Winston Jones High School, electricity expansion in 10 communities, while 1,500 poultry farmers and 5,000 small farmers have received assistance.
“We funded the renovation and reopening of the Broadleaf Health Centre, construction of 60 greenhouses and in partnership with the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), the JBI will be one of the largest facilitators of greenhouse technology, not just in Jamaica but in the English-speaking Caribbean,” Mr. Lindsay said.
He further cited support for skills training programmes, construction of post offices at Kendal and Harmons and the provision of millions of dollars in scholarships for students.
Mr. Lindsay said there is close collaboration with residents to ensure that projects being undertaken will provide them with tangible long-term social and economic benefits.
He noted that there is also direct and constant trilateral dialogue involving the mining companies, the communities and the relevant government agencies.
“Gone are the days when… community members felt that their concerns were not being heard. We have successfully created bauxite community councils to bridge that gap and provide a forum for the dissemination and discussion of issues,” he said.
“This ensures that business continues in a way that is sensitive to the needs of the community,” he added, noting that there are 14 active councils across the five bauxite mining parishes of Manchester, Clarendon, St. Elizabeth, St. Ann, and St. Catherine.
The aim is to ensure that every community impacted by bauxite mining has a forum to have their concerns heard and needs discussed in a structured way.
CONTACT: BARBARA ELLINGTON
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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