Caribbean News
NSHP Delivers Life-Changing Homes in Dalvey, St. Thomas
Kingston, Jamaica, June 25, 2025 (JIS): Two residents of Dalvey in St. Thomas Eastern are among the latest beneficiaries of the
Government’s New Social Housing Programme (NSHP).
Sandrarie Sutherland and Sayde Dawson, each of whom received a three-bedroom house, were presented with the keys by Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, during ribbon-cutting ceremonies held on June 19 at their respective homes in the Dalvey community.
Ms. Sutherland recalled living with her mother and eight others in a cramped two-bedroom wooden structure—a situation she said hindered her children’s ability to learn.
Now, she is expressing heartfelt gratitude for the new home, which will provide her two children with comfort and privacy, as each will finally have a room of their own.
“I want to thank the Prime Minister, my MP (Member of Parliament) Dr. Michelle Charles and the taxpayers, and each and every one who made this possible. I’m really grateful and thankful,” she added.
Ms. Dawson, who shared similar sentiments, told JIS News that her previous home had fallen into disrepair after a tree crashed into it
during a hurricane.
She noted that the NSHP house will now provide space to accommodate her many grandchildren who live in and around the Dalvey community. “I feel good… very good… and I am pleased with [the house]. I have a lot of grandchildren… so we are all going to enjoy it,” Ms. Dawson said, brimming with joy.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Arlene Williams, underscored the NSHP’s transformative impact, noting that beneficiaries were not merely receiving houses but were having dignity and decency restored through the initiative.
She further noted that the programme targets only the most vulnerable in society, emphasising that every stage – from application to construction – is rigorously vetted to prevent beneficiary fraud.
“It’s a comprehensive programme. We are happy, because each time that a house is handed over by the Prime Minister, we see where
everybody agrees that the beneficiary is indeed deserving of the unit,” Mrs. Williams said.
The Permanent Secretary, in further highlighting the NSHP’s impact, disclosed that 293 units have been handed over to date, with 43 nearing completion and an additional 65 slated for construction during fiscal year 2025/26. She offered words of encouragement to other selected beneficiaries awaiting their homes, assuring them that construction is progressing at an accelerated pace. “Each week you will see the Prime Minister handing over houses. We have an average of four now, but we are steadily increasing that number. What we are also working on is reducing the time for construction. So we have moved, now, from months, and this one was built in five weeks,” Mrs. Williams said, referring to the three-bedroom unit Ms. Dawson received.
“So, I want to encourage persons just to continue to have hope, because your time will come one day,” she added.
Five NSHP houses were handed over in St. Thomas last week. In addition to the two in Dalvey, three others were presented in White Hall, Seaforth, St. Thomas Western; and Style Hut, Port Morant, and Amity Hall in St. Thomas Eastern.
The NSHP, which was established in 2018, is implemented through the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation under the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) Programme.
CONTACT: VANESSA JAMES
CAPTIONS:
Header: Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, greets New Social Housing Programme (NSHP) beneficiary, Sandrarie Sutherland, on June 19 during the handover ceremony for her three-bedroom house in Hill Top, Dalvey, St. Thomas.
1st insert: Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (second right, front row), cuts the ribbon during a handover ceremony on June 19 for a three-bedroom house presented to New Social Housing Programme (NSHP) beneficiary, Jennifer Phillips (left, front row), and her daughter, Alecia Deer (second left, front row) in White Hall, Seaforth, St. Thomas. Also participating are Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Arlene Williams (right, front row); and (from left, back row) Member of Parliament for St. Thomas Western, James Robertson; Councillor for the Seaforth Division, Sheroo Stephens; and Mayor of Morant Bay, Councillor Louis Chin.
2nd insert: Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (second right), cuts the ribbon, while New Social Housing Programme (NSHP) beneficiary, Sandrarie Sutherland (second left) displays the keys to her new three-bedroom house during a handover ceremony on June 19 in Hill Top, Dalvey, St. Thomas. Also participating are Member of Parliament for St. Thomas Eastern, Dr. Michelle Charles (left); Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Arlene Williams, and Councillor for the Dalvey Division, Michael McLeod (background).
3rd insert: Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, greets New Social Housing Programme (NSHP) beneficiary, Sayde Dawson, on June 19 during a handover ceremony for her three-bedroom house in Holland Town, Dalvey, St. Thomas.
Photos: Yhomo Hutchinson
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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