Caribbean News
Ground Broken in Montego Bay for Nation’s First Smart Bus Stop
Montego Bay, August 20, 2025 – Ground was broken on Tuesday (August 19) for the construction of Jamaica’s first smart bus stop in Mount Salem, Montego Bay, St. James. The project, valued approximately $4.7 million, is being carried out under the St. James Municipal Corporation’s 2025–2026 development plan. The bus stop will feature high-speed internet, QR code technology to connect commuters with registered taxi associations, digital advertising boards, security cameras with real-time access for police monitoring and proper lighting for enhanced safety.
The facility is being established in partnership with telecommunications firm Digicel.
It forms part of the municipality’s ‘MoBay Step-Up’ (Striving Towards Environmental Protection and Urban Preservation) Programme and wider urban renewal strategies and is expected to be completed within six weeks.
The project marks a key phase in urban renewal efforts and technological enhancement initiatives across the Second City.
Speaking during the ceremony to break ground, Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Richard Vernon, said the project represents more than the construction of a bus stop.
“It is a complete transformation of a space that has been misused for a very long time. We decided to take the necessary actions to restore
the area to its original state, improve the aesthetics, improve the accommodation and, to top it all off, add a smart bus stop,” he explained.
Councillor Vernon noted that the initiative coincides with ongoing upgrades across Montego Bay, including sidewalk improvements and infrastructure enhancements under the MoBay Step-Up Programme. “In a highly trafficked area, what you need is organised transportation. The smart bus stop will provide the needed facilities to do that. If we are [going] to [be] a sustainable city, it must be beyond concept. It must be reality, and we have to do these things inclusively, implementing scalable and adaptable projects to move to [being] a smart city,” Councillor Vernon added.
For his part, Custos Rotulorum for St. James, Bishop the Hon. Conrad Pitkin, hailed the development as both special and historic, underscoring its significance for patients, families, and healthcare workers associated with the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH).
“This project will serve both patients and citizens in a very meaningful way. CRH is of great service to the people of St. James and the wider western region. Each day many persons pass through these gates, patients seeking care, families supporting loved ones and workers dedicating themselves to the health and well-being of our community.
“This bus stop will, therefore, not only provide shelter and comfort for those waiting on transportation but will also connect citizens through free Wi-Fi access,” he added.
Bishop Pitkin further noted that the initiative reflects forward-thinking leadership and genuine care for the people of Montego Bay.
“This project shows thoughtfulness. It shows that small things can make a difference in people’s lives – a shaded seat, a safe waiting area, and internet connectivity. May this new bus stop serve the people of Montego Bay and western Jamaica for many years to come,” he said.
Contact: Serena Grant
Release: JIS
Photo Captions:
Header: Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Richard Vernon (fourth right), breaks ground for the construction of a smart bus stop in Mount Salem, St. James, on Tuesday (August 19). Also participating are (from left), Commanding Officer for the St. James Police Division, Senior Superintendent Eron Samuels; President of Citymove Taxi Association, Conroy Smith; Custos Rotulorum for St. James, Bishop the Hon. Conrad Pitkin; Chief Executive Officer, St. James Municipal Corporation, Naudia Crosskill; Former Mayor of Montego Bay, Leeroy Williams; Regional Director, Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), St. Andrade Sinclair, and Director of Nursing Services, Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH), Gillian Ledgister.
Insert: Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Richard Vernon, addresses the ground breaking ceremony for a new smart bus stop in Mount Salem, St. James, on Tuesday (August 19).
Serena Grant Photos
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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