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VOLUME:118 No.33, JANUARY 12, 2021

HO US E & 16 THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

HEALTH: GOING NUTS FOR HEALTHY LIVING PAGES

WHY AREN’T THEY TESTING PEOPLE?

Questions raised over why large numbers are not taking Day Five test

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

DOCTOR Michael Darville, the co-chair of the Progressive Liberal Party’s COVID-19 task force, says the revelation that 46 percent of travellers to The Bahamas have not taken the COVID-19 antigen test after five days in the country is alarming and should “greatly concern” Bahamians.

“It was a shock to me and shows even though these protocols are in place, the government is not ready for prime-time,” the senator said yesterday. “It’s easy to talk about these things but the truth of the matter revolves around how these policies function on the ground.”

PLP leader Philip “Brave” Davis also weighed

BIRD’S EYE FLEW

in on the issue last night, saying in a statement to The Tribune that the government needed to fix its lax enforcement of the testing regime.

The five-day antigen test for travellers is one rule officials implemented last year to prevent a COVID19 outbreak.

However, during a Ministry of Health press conference on Friday, Dr Cherita Moxey, a senior house officer, admitted that about 21,000 people required to take the antigen test have not done so. The government previously said that failure to take the antigen test on day five could result in a $1,000 fine or one-month prison sentence.

However it is unclear if any traveller has been given a penalty for such a breach.

SEE PAGE FOUR

Pinder-Butler told The Tribune she thought it was concerning that the country has not been able to fulfill antigen testing requirements on travellers, thus their COVID-19 status is not known.

“I think that if we’re having challenges with the testing, perhaps that should be something that needs to be revisited to ensure that we are not again trying to SEE PAGE FOUR

‘WHAT YOU DO ALWAYS SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WHAT YOU SAY’

SEE PAGE EIGHT

NO EARLY ELECTION, SAYS FNM CHAIRMAN

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Chairman Carl Culmer said Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis will not call an early election unless his party is ready for one, telling The Tribune yesterday the FNM could be several months away from finalising its candidates. “(The Prime Minister and I) talk on a regular basis and he knows where we are in the process and he would not call an election unless he knows we are ready,” he said.

SEE PAGE THREE

FISHERIES ACT FACES NEW COURT CHALLENGE

‘QUARANTINE FOR VISITORS MAY NOW BE NECESSARY’

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

IN view of the number of travellers not complying with the rapid antigen test requirements, a senior physician suggested the country should revisit “some measure of quarantine” until officials can put in place better strategies.

Consultant Physicians Staff Association (CPSA) President Sabriquet

HOME

By NEIL HARTNELL and YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporters

A BOLD leap has gone viral - with a man from England diving into the sea off a 75ft cliff in Eleuthera.

The video shows Owen Weymouth, 22, a former World High Diving Federation gold medal winner, who filmed his dive into the sea as part of a documentary series. The dive has been seen up to 500 million times, estimates Mr Weymouth.

SHELL LOSE HOLD ON BPL DEAL

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Power & Light (BPL) has ditched Shell North America’s exclusivity and has “a free hand” to negotiate the best electricity prices for New Providence with any supplier that can meet its terms.

Desmond Bannister, deputy prime minister, yesterday confirmed to Tribune

THE BPL plant at Clifton Pier.

Business that BPL is free to negotiate with the generation provider of its choice even though it and the Government still had “goodwill” towards Shell

and want to “give it every opportunity to be the party that lands the agreement”.

He declined, though, to state whether there was still a “preferred” bidder or give a timeline for when BPL’s efforts to outsource power generation will conclude. Mr Bannister, who has ministerial responsibility for BPL, would only say that negotiations will finish when the Government and FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

TOP fisheries wholesalers have teamed with boat owners and foreign workers in a bid to overturn legal reforms that ban the latter from working in the sector.

Ten plaintiffs are urging the Supreme Court to declare the ban in the Fisheries Act 2020 and Immigration Act as unconstitutional and discriminatory.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

ASSANGE STILL SLIPS THROUGH US FINGERS

SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Tuesday, January 12, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

THAT was then, this is now - with the unveiling of the new bridge in Spanish Wells, Eleuthera, on Friday.

Minnis optimistic on rebound of economy

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has expressed optimism that the country’s economy will rebound as the new variant of the coronavirus grips other nations around the world.

Speaking to reporters Friday at Spanish Wells, Eleuthera, Dr Minnis foreshadowed upcoming projects, which he suggested will boost the economy.

“We have a lot of projects that are about to commence” Dr Minnis

said. “Projects that are on course.

“We think that would assist us in moving forward, but we also think with the vaccine comes on in the first world countries moving as aggressively as possible to vaccinate their population, I think that that would offer some degree of relief. Individuals I think have been cooped-up in one particular location for a long time and I think once there’s some degree of freedom of movement, I think The Bahamas is gonna see great, great (rebound).”

The Killarney MP also commented on the

impending 2022 general election and the Free National Movement’s progress on promises made in its manifesto.

“When we came in, we were immediately faced with Hurricane Irma. We did what was never done in the history of the Bahamas in that we air evacuated individuals from the southern Bahamas to the central zone so that no lives were lost. We are still on target with our commitments, our promises and revenue projection, then we were hit with Dorian.

“In spite of that, we were still moving forward and Dorian obviously would

have affected our revenue stream dramatically. We had to concentrate on lives.

We had to concentrate on rebuilding both Grand Bahama and Abaco. That obviously would’ve thrown us off course in terms of our commitment with the manifesto. Then us and the world were hit with COVID. “That affected not only us but the entire world.

Our basic economy is tourism – that was affected dramatically, but in spite of that we continue to persevere and, yes, we would’ve made a lot of commitments with respect to our

manifesto and we will do as much as we can to ensure that those commitments are followed through.”

As for the Progressive Liberal Party’s claims of an early election being called, the prime minister said: “I was given a mandate for five years and we’re trying our best to follow through on that, but if the PLP followed my history even as opposition they would note I’ve always commenced preparation at least two years in advance” He continued: “When we came into government, we made a commitment and a promise that we

would move through all the various family islands and constituencies informing them as to what is happening, especially if there are new events. We wanted to engage all family islanders because they contribute also to the national revenue and it’s only essential that they know exactly how their monies been spent.

“We made that commitment and we kept that commitment.”

The prime minister is expected to give a national address on Tuesday, which is expected to give an idea of plans for the country’s way forward.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, January 12, 2021, PAGE 3

Crowd meets at RM Bailey Park

THE SCENE at RM Bailey Park during the event held by Bahamas Evolution on Majority Rule Day. DOZENS of people gathered at R M Bailey Park on Majority Rule Day for what was billed as an “entertainment and education event” on the country’s natural resources, hosted by Bahamian Evolution. The group has organised several protests in recent months.

People were seen crowded together at the park, not maintaining the recommended six feet of distance. Many wore masks, but some had them pulled down to their chins or had taken them off altogether.

According to the group’s Facebook page, the event was supposed to be a “day of prayer and support for our natural resources”.

Former talk show host Lincoln Bain, one of the organisers, was among those at the park.

Several speakers addressed the crowd, including Progressive Liberal Party Golden Isles member of Parliament Vaughn Miller, who was not wearing a mask when he spoke.

Earlier, some members of the group alleged that police were trying to “shut down the event” before it began. When The Tribune arrived around 2pm, police had blocked one of the park’s entrances. Eventually, officers allowed them on the park’s grounds and members were clearly spread out at the time.

However, later in the day, attendance grew and the crowd moved closer together.

When asked by reporters on Friday if he is generally pleased with the way that Bahamians are adhering to COVID-19 protocols, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said he was pleased for the most part. However, he said he was still concerned with some events he had seen.

He is expected to give a national address tonight.

When contacted last night, a police official could not comment on why the event was allowed to continue considering the crowd size and the violation of social distancing protocols.

NO EARLY ELECTION, SAYS FNM CHAIRMAN from page one

Mr Culmer’s comments came as political observers are watching closely for signs Dr Minnis will call an early election.

Many in the Progressive Liberal Party believe Dr Minnis will do so, pointing to his recent Family Island trips and the passing of legislation implementing a permanent voter register.

At a press conference last week, PLP chairman Fred Mitchell claimed the FNM has bought election paraphernalia.

Mr Culmer said yesterday: “Fred is responsible for what party again? I don’t know about no paraphernalia and I am the chairman of this party and we haven’t decided on a theme or anything so how could we purchase paraphernalia?”

As for Dr Minnis’ Family Island travels, Mr Culmer said: “He has been having town meetings since 2017.

That’s nothing new to the Prime Minister. The pandemic slowed the Prime Minister down from reporting to different constituencies but he made that commitment to Bahamians in 2017, saying ‘I will report to constituencies on trips.’”

Mr Culmer said the FNM has not yet officially considered the political future of incumbent MPs, saying none of them has indicated they will step aside before the next election.

He said the party is currently looking at seats occupied by the PLP and independents.

“We are still a year and change out from the

election so as time draws nigh those not running will dictate whether or not they will run.

“We have several candidates vying for Central and South Andros, we have about five for Cat Island, for Centreville there are another five or six there.

We want to give everybody a fair opportunity to go through the process.

“The Westminster system dictates that the Prime Minister determines when there will be an election, and not Fred Mitchell.”

Mr Culmer said Dr Minnis has said to him, “We are a year out, we must get our teams ready, work the field.”

“He wants to make sure there is ample time for persons to go around constituencies, for new candidates to go out there and work,” Mr Culmer said.

The process for selecting candidates in the FNM will involve a vetting committee, the executive committee and the council.

“That is a process that takes several weeks or even months,” Mr Culmer said. “The prime minister would not call an election unless he knows his party is ready.”

Mr Culmer did not say definitively whether the FNM will have a convention before the next election, instead saying the party is hopeful of having one.

He noted the impracticality of assembling more than 500 FNM members for a convention during a pandemic.

“We talked about a

digital convention but a definite decision hasn’t been made,” he said.

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

PAGE 4, Tuesday, January 12, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Why aren’t they testing people? from page one “There is a bucket of individuals who at the fifth day tested negative and that is roughly 26,000 individuals who tested negative,” she said. “Now we get to that bucket of individuals who were not tested. That number when we just look at it in an absolute sense seems like a lot, it’s a little bit over 43,000. However, we have to look at the data in terms of who was eligible to have the five-day rapid antigen test done and when we look at those who were eligible, i.e. those who have been in The Bahamas five days or longer, we see that there is about 21,000 or about 46 percent of individuals who were supposed to take the antigen tests but did not take it so there is some concern there. We certainly need to ensure that people who are supposed to take that rapid antigen test actually do take it.”

Dr Darville, a former Minister of Grand Bahama, said the revelation “raises a red flag” as the country braces for potentially more infectious variants of COVID-19.

“That’s an area that needs to be sorted out immediately,” he said when contacted. “They must put the necessary resources to find the manpower to ensure that that is corrected. In view of the fact that we have highly contagious strains popping up, we have to do a better job to ensure that visitors as well as residents arriving who are supposed to do follow up testing get those testing done. If we are going to open up and stay

open, it is crucial and if we don’t, we will miss cases.

There could be severe clusters of COVID-19 popping up.”

For his part, Mr Davis said officials should be more vigilant at this time, not less.

“The government is playing with fire but it is the Bahamian people who will get burned,” Mr Davis said.

“With new, more transmissible strains of COVID now circulating in the US and elsewhere, it’s time to be more vigilant, not less.

The government needs to move quickly to fix its lax enforcement of the testing requirement. This is not a game.

“The Prime Minister is speaking to the nation on Tuesday night. He should provide an accounting of what went wrong and how he intends to fix the errors.

“The government’s broken, mistake-filled reopening policies in July led to more than 7,000 new cases in The Bahamas, and the lockdowns and curfews that followed crushed local businesses. We can’t afford this government’s mistakes.

We can’t afford a third wave. People are already suffering too much,” the PLP leader added.

The PLP’s warning comes as the country appears to have arrested control of the second COVID-19 wave.

Over the weekend, only three people remained hospitalised with the virus, the lowest since mid-July.

Nonetheless, health officials believe it is a matter of when, not if, the more infectious COVID-19 variants that originated in the United Kingdom and South Africa impact the country.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan said on Friday that officials will choose indicators that will determine when positive COVID-19 samples will be sent to foreign labs to undergo the genome sequencing that identifies various COVID-19 strains.

Dr Darville said: “I see the (COVID-19 ambassador) cars driving up and down and I see them throughout New Providence with their green lights to indicate that yes we do have these COVID ambassadors. It begs the question, how could 41 percent of visitors who are supposed to be tested on day five after coming in not be tested? Where did these individuals go? And who is responsible for ensuring this is to be done? Is it the COVID police or the contact tracers assigned to this mission?

“Let’s say there were two to three travelers who came in and were positive by day five but did not get tested and they are in and about the hotels interacting with people. That could possibly cause community spread.

“Tourism numbers are down by 95 percent and we missed 40 percent of people coming in? This shows we have to do a better job. You

can’t sit back and rely on the individuals to show up and say we came in, it’s our responsibility to make sure we have the digital capability to monitor things like this.

“We found out the statistics and now it’s the responsibility of the government to fix it and do it immediately so we have a fighting chance to ensure our tourism sector stays open.”

During Friday’s press conference, Dr McMillan said 70,000 antigen tests have been performed for travel purposes since November 1. Of these, there have been 113 positive COVID-19 cases, she said, including 58.4 percent who were tourists and 34.5 percent who were returning Bahamians.

She could not say how many of the positive cases had their result confirmed with a PCR test as required by ministry protocols. She also could not say what percentage of COVID-19 cases were contracts of positive travel cases.

“That is an area that we recognise is a gap and we are seeking to work closer as Dr Moxey alluded to, we have to work a little closer with our tourism partners to ensure that we are actually getting these persons tested and that we are actually getting a little more access to the data to be able to give the true numbers,” she said.

“But we have a robust partnership so we anticipate that that will occur.”

Travellers must have a negative COVID-19 PCR test no more than five days old to enter the country and apply for a travel health visa.

Dr McMillan said healthcare workers, frontline workers, people who are high risk for catching COVID-19 or succumbing to the disease are prioritised for the vaccination first. She said a phased approach will ensure highrisk groups are immunised, then other groups.

Asked which of the main three vaccines officials are inclined to buy, Health Minister Renward Wells did not say.

“We’ve already put down a down payment for 20 percent with the WHO through PAHO’s revolving fund so we’re seeking to secure the vaccine through WHO but

The Bahamas government is keeping its options open and looking at its connections with distributors for the approved vaccine,” he said. “The prime minister will be updating the Bahamian people as we go along in regards to how we are progressing with securing the necessary vaccine.”

For her part, Dr Indira Martin, Director of the National Reference Laboratory, confirmed that the Bahamas does not have the capacity for the genomic sequencing that is necessary to determine if more infectious COVID-19 variants found in the United Kingdom and South Africa

are present in the country.

She said positive COVID19 samples will have to be sent to an internationally accredited lab to verify the strain of the virus present in a sample.

It is not clear what health officials’ plan is for determining which samples will be sent to labs for genomic sequencing and when.

“As we go ahead with our real time PCR testing, we have taken into consideration the need for us to identify certain indicators for us to actually send off specimens to determine whether or not we have any of the variants in the country,” said Dr McMillan.

Infectious disease expert Dr Nikkiah Forbes said it is difficult to distinguish the various strains in clinical settings because they all have the same features.

“It is very difficult to know that it is here unless you are actively looking for it and you are actively doing testing for it,” she said. “There is no clinical

OPPOSITION leader ‘Brave’ Davis.

Philip

VACCINE AVAILABLE ‘IN FIRST QUARTER’

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

A COVID-19 vaccine will be available in The Bahamas in the first quarter of 2021, Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan said during a press conference on Friday. However, health officials could not give a definite timeline for a vaccine’s arrival or significant details about the vaccination protocol.

Though officials say a vaccination strategy has been finalised and approved

by Cabinet, the document has not yet been released to the public.

TOTAL CASES TOTAL DEATHS

8,004 175 MONDAY SUNDAY NEW PROVIDENCE GRAND BAHAMA ABACO SAN SALVADOR PENDING

TOTAL TESTS

55,292

NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES 0 CASES SATURDAY PROVIDENCE 9 CASES NEW GRAND BAHAMA 2 3 2 1 1

HOSPITALISED

4

PENDING

FRIDAY

18 CASES 15 2 1

8 CASES

NEW PROVIDENCE GRAND BAHAMA ABACO

CASES IN ICU

0

3 4 1

RECOVERED

6,331

DROP IN NEW CASES AND NUMBER IN INTENSIVE CARE

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE number of people hospitalised with COVID-19 dropped to three over the weekend, the lowest since mid-July before the beginning of the second wave - but rose to four again yesterday despite Monday also seeing no new cases recorded in The Bahamas.

All current hospitalised cases are characterised as moderately ill.

Meanwhile, 35 new cases were confirmed over the weekend, including 18 men, 16 women and one person of unspecified sex.

Yesterday, not a single new case was recorded across The Bahamas.

On Sunday, nine new cases were recorded: two in New Providence; three in Grand Bahama; two in Abaco; one in San Salvador and one case with its location pending.

This brought the nation’s confirmed case count to 8,004.

Eighteen cases were recorded on Saturday, with 15 in New way to distinguish it.”

Earlier Friday, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said ongoing mitigation measures will be required to combat the effects of new variants of COVID19 if they are found in The Bahamas.

“The virus is more infectious, not necessarily more devastating in terms of the degree of the illness that it might cause, so one has to follow the same mitigation processes in terms of facial masks, social distancing and sanitation,” he told reporters in Spanish Wells on Friday morning. “I think

Providence; two in Grand Bahama and one listed as location pending.

Eight cases were recorded on Friday: three in New Providence; four in Grand Bahama and one in Abaco.

The number of deaths remained at 175 over the weekend, with 15 under investigation.

There remain 1,422 active cases.

Following the holiday season, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and health officials are closely watching case counts as they weigh loosening restrictions. Health Minister Renward Wells has said officials won’t know until mid-January if holiday gatherings will lead to a rise in coronavirus cases.

Dr Minnis is expected to give a national address at 8pm tonight.

During a press conference on Friday, Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan noted that the country has averaged 12 new COVID-19 cases over the past four weeks, down from the peak of 108 cases per day in October. once we follow that we will be okay. We will monitor the situation.”

“We just came out of the Thanksgiving festival. We watched and expected an increase. The increase was marginal but manageable, it did not cause any serious issues. We came out of the Christmas, I think we are coming out of that now, the 14-day (incubation period) and therefore we expected an increase. It’s manageable. We will be watching to see what happens between now and Wednesday because that will be the time we will see the effects.”

‘QUARANTINE FOR VISITORS MAY NOW BE NECESSARY’ from page one catch up with cases when they are already in (the) country and we’re not able to track them appropriately,” she said when contacted.

“Not necessarily 14 days, but perhaps some measure of quarantine until we’re able to ascertain appropriate testing.”

At a Ministry of Health press conference on Friday, it was revealed that 46 percent of travellers required to take the rapid antigen test five days after arriving in The Bahamas have not complied with the policy.

The ministry’s Senior House Officer Dr Cherita Moxey noted that the figure represents 21,000 people.

Furthermore, the ministry’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan said 70,000 antigen tests have been performed for travel purposes since November 1. Of the 113 positive cases, she said 58.4 percent or 66 people were tourists who travelled to

New Providence, Grand Bahama, Exuma, Abaco, Eleuthera, Bimini and the Berry Islands. She said 34.5 percent of cases or 39 people were returning Bahamians.

She could not say how many of the positive cases had their result confirmed with a PCR test as required by ministry protocols. She also could not say what percentage of COVID-19 cases since November 1 were contacts of positive travel cases.

Bahamian officials ended the 14-day quarantine requirement for travellers in early November 2020. However entry requirements mandate that travellers present a negative COVID-19 PCR swab test, obtain a health travel visa, submit to a daily questionnaire and take a rapid antigen test if staying for more than five days.

During Friday’s press conference it was also noted that the country does not have the capacity for the genomic sequencing that is necessary to determine if

more infectious COVID-19 variants, such as the strains found in the United Kingdom and South Africa, are present in the country.

Director of the National Reference Laboratory Dr Indira Martin noted that positive COVID-19 samples will have to be sent to an internationally accredited lab to verify the strain of the virus present in a sample.

Yesterday the CPSA president admitted there have been situations in the past in the country where officials did not have the capacity to do certain tests, so there were partnerships with international laboratories to have them done.

She added: “I think once the ministry can connect those ties to make sure that if the need arises, that can be done in the most timely fashion as possible.

I think that would assist us greatly.”

The new COVID-19 strains are said to be more infectious, but not more deadly.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, January 12, 2021, PAGE 5

Port Lucaya marketplace struggling at start of year

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE Straw Markets are closed and there are no visitors buying authentic souvenir straw crafts or browsing the stores and eating in the restaurants at Port Lucaya Marketplace – making it a dismal start to 2021.

The 80 or so straw vendors have not been out since March because cruise ships are still not sailing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the shutdown of the global cruise industry.

With the Grand Lucaya Resort closed and no cruise ships sailing, Grand Bahama’s tourism sector continues to struggle. For the first time, shop owners at Port Lucaya are “purely reliant” on locals for business sales.

Loren Madu, manager of Freeport Jewelers, is praying the situation does not last much longer. As a result of the lack of visitors, they are focusing more on getting local customers in the store.

“We are doing a lot of stuff on social media and have started doing radio ads on the radios to encourage Bahamians to come out and shop,” she said.

“In terms of tourists, we did not have any tourist sales during December, which is like a huge deal for us,” Mrs Madu added. “But since we have been open in September, we had one

THE CLOSED straw market at Port Lucaya Marketplace with the closed Grand Lucayan Resort in the background. or two sales (from visitors) so we are purely relying on locals.”

Port Lucaya Marketplace is located opposite the Grand Lucayan Resort.

It is the main shopping and entertainment attraction in the Lucaya area. It comprises two straw markets, and a plethora of retail stores, restaurants, and bars. There is also a private marina for yachts and boaters.

Mrs Madu said business and sales were good during the reopening in September and continued into December. “It was pretty decent because we had a lot of layaways and there were a lot of occasions that people were shopping for, and Christmas was pretty decent even though we had to close at 9pm and store hours were a lot shorter.”

Sales in January, however, have been very slow,

she reported.

“Right now, going into January there has been a big difference. You could see that there is no one around.

We don’t really know what to expect because we have never really been in this situation before. So, we are being very hopeful,” Mrs Madu said.

To keep staff employed, Freeport Jewelers had to cut back on working hours.

“We kept all the staff,

but we had to really put them on a part-time basis, with persons working fewer days. We wanted to keep everyone on board because we are praying this situation does not last too much longer.

“We have them working, but not on a full-time basis at this time. It is a struggle for them, and they also understand what we are experiencing and that jewellery is a commissionbased business. So, if the sale is not there, the salary is just one part of it. But, it is really the commission that you make your money; and sales have just been slow.”

The uncertainty concerning the sale and reopening of Grand Lucayan Resort is another stressful situation for the vendors and shop owners there.

The Grand Lucayan’s Board is looking at a February 2021 reopening. In the meantime, Royal Caribbean and ITM Group have signed a Heads of Agreement with the government to purchase and redevelop the resort property and Freeport Harbour.

Said Mrs Madu: “We have been hearing so many rumours – didn’t they say February? I have not seen anything happening over there; I have not seen any work going on.

Again, we are not focusing on that because we have been disappointed so many times – we been here so many times.”

In the Freeport area, some small business owners are trying to remain positive during the economic challenges in Grand Bahama brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Angela Rolle, owner of OMG Couture, said she is thankful to be open for business.

“It has been like a roller coaster since COVID, but overall we are thankful that businesses are not shut down like before and that residents are shopping again on the island.

“People are shopping now – and it has become like therapy for people instead of sitting down and worrying about COVID and being depressed.

They are getting out and shopping.”

Ms Rolle said she is seeing more people coming into the boutique. “We have a lot of clients coming to buy clothing, handbags, shoes, and perfume,” she said.

“It’s been three years now into the business, and I have not regretted it one day.

Although Grand Bahama has been set back due to Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19, Ms Rolle said Grand Bahamians need to keep pressing forward.

“It was hard, but we have to always keep pressing on; we can’t look at the negative. We have to look at the positive and step out on faith, and know that God will restore the GB economy,” she said.

DISNEY HELPS FEED THOUSANDS ACROSS BAHAMAS DISNEY Cruise Line joined local community leaders to help spread magic this holiday season by funding thousands of meals to families in South and Central Eleuthera, New Providence and Abaco.

In Eleuthera, Disney Cruise Line contributed $25,000 to The South and Central Eleuthera Community Christmas Dinner-in-a-Bag outreach programme, which went toward the assembly of 2,800 dinner bags for families in need throughout settlements in South and Central Eleuthera over the holiday week.

“We know this year has been difficult for so many of our co-workers and friends in The Bahamas,” said Kim Prunty, vice president of

public affairs for Disney Cruise Line, in a press release. “Joining with community leaders, our team made it a priority to help feed local families during the holidays at a time when this assistance is more

important than ever.”

Each dinner-in-a-bag was delivered directly to residents’ doors in Eleuthera and was filled with holiday favourites such as whole roasters, eggs, macaroni noodles, cheese, a variety

of canned goods, and fresh produce to help residents prepare their meals.

“Without the support of Disney Cruise Line and others, this year’s event would not have been possible,” said Shelly Johnson, coordinator of this year’s food distribution efforts in Eleuthera. “We’re incredibly grateful to Disney for their ongoing support of the Eleuthera community, especially during these challenging times, and look forward to brighter days ahead for our community.”

Additionally, Disney Cruise Line recently donated $10,000 to Bahamas Feeding Network to provide meals to families in New Providence and Abaco.

Disney said it has

supported communities in The Bahamas in a variety of ways for more than 20 years. Such outreach efforts include hosting reading programmes, bringing Disney characters and gifts to children and in Nassau and the Abaco islands to celebrate the holidays and extensive support for conservation programmes, among other initiatives.

Disney has also made significant contributions to Hurricane Dorian relief and recovery efforts, including a $1 million donation to non-profit organisations and more than $500,000 in supplies for affected communities and direct assistance to Disney’s Bahamian employees.

In Eleuthera, Disney said it has provided funding for previous holiday events

for children and seniors across Central and South Eleuthera, sponsored local junior Junkanoo groups, provided support to afterschool programmes and more. Disney also entered into an agreement with the Access Accelerator Small Business Development Centre and the Eleuthera Chamber of Commerce, providing more than $1 million over three years to fund a new Eleuthera Business Centre and provide business development advisory services, business communication training, customer service training, business mentorship and other programming designed to prepare start-ups and small businesses for participation in development projects underway on Eleuthera.

PAGE 4, Tuesday, January 12, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

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Missed tests show we are not prepared Missed tests show we are not prepared WHEN Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar discussed in November the rollout of the rapid antigen testing on the fifth day for a visitor in The Bahamas, he advised that It was going to be “a little bumpy”.

He asked Bahamians to bear with the government, but confidently concluded that “we’ll be ready for this well before” the larger properties come back on stream.

Well, the larger properties such as Atlantis and Baha Mar have opened their doors – and where’s the rapid antigen testing?

It turns out that just over half of the travellers who have come to The Bahamas have taken the COVID-19 antigen test after five days in the country.

A total of 46 percent have not.

Why? What’s the explanation for this?

After all, visitors were warned of the consequences for not doing so – a fine of $1,000 or a month in prison. The rules were issued in an emergency order, showing the importance with which the government regarded these measures.

Have any of those who failed to take the test been brought before the courts?

Are any of them in Fox Hill prison at this moment? If not – and we fully expect there are none – isn’t that making a mockery of the whole system?

It’s not the first mess the government has made of testing. Previously, Mr D’Aguilar went from declaring that “uninterrupted access to high-quality rapid antigen tests is a crucial component for us to begin reinvigorating our critically important tourism sector” to saying that “the use of rapid antigen tests as an effective screening tool at the border was not supported by the available research or was not supported by the science”.

That came as the Living With COVID Coalition had spent time rounding up three million antigen tests to help the reopening only for their efforts to be sidelined with hours to go before the country reopened to tourism.

The PLP’s Dr Michael Darville, the co-chair of the party’s COVID-19 task

force, sadly has it spot on when he says that “the government is not ready for prime-time”.

Talk of missed prosecutions and such is of course one thing, but the worrying fact is that 21,000 people who were required to take a test have not done so.

How many of those 21,000 might have had the virus? We don’t know. Because they didn’t have the test, they won’t have known themselves either. How many might have gone on to spread the virus unwittingly to others? In the middle of our fight against the virus, we are shooting ourselves in our own foot if we do not follow the protocols and rules we have set down.

These rules were put in for a reason – to protect us. If we are failing to follow those rules, then we are failing to protect ourselves.

There needs to be absolute clarity over why we have failed so spectacularly. Is it down to visitors not following the rules? Or is it down to there not being the resources for them to do so?

And where is the manpower to ensure those tests are carried out regardless of how helpful or otherwise visitors might be?

As Dr Darville said, “How could 41 percent of visitors who are supposed to be tested on day five after coming in not be tested? Where did these individuals go? And who is responsible for ensuring this is to be done?

“Let’s say there were two to three travellers who came in and were positive by day five but did not get tested and they are in and about the hotels interacting with people. That could possibly cause community spread.”

Remember – this comes at a time when we have relatively low numbers of community spread. If we can’t handle testing at this level, how are we supposed to cope with higher numbers of visitors – and potentially higher numbers of cases?

This is quite simply not good enough – and if we are to protect our economy as we open up further, this is no way to do it.

Trump defeat EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE United States of America, the greatest democracy in the history of human civilization, currently had its democracy under siege by rabid Republican supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump.

According to CNN – no friend of Trump, mind you – Wednesday, January 6, marked the first time since the War of 1812 when the British overran the U.S. Capitol in 1814, that the legislative chambers of Congress were overrun by hostile forces.

Two-hundred and seven years later Congress would once again be invaded, but this time by Americans – thousands of irate Trump supporters. In their warped thinking, their acts of mob violence and intimidation in attempting to stop the ceremonial Electoral College vote count were their last ditch efforts at overturning the November 3, 2020 election results, that catapulted then Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden to victory.

Obviously, democracy prevailed over mob violence.

President-elect Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr has been certified by Congress, with Vice President Mike Pence and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell both taking part in the process, leaving their

future in the Republican Party in doubt after committing what many diehard Trump supporters view as an act of betrayal. As for Trump’s image in The Bahamas, many Bahamians wanted him gone, and are currently salivating over his election defeat. I was not one of them. Trump not being in the White House will not bode well for The Bahamas. I am convinced that in the coming years, God willing, anti-Trump Bahamians will eventually rue the day Trump lost the Presidential election.

Make no mistake about it, Trump, notwithstanding his penchant for committing boneheaded gaffes, like saying in September of 2019 that The Bahamas is full of very bad gangsters, was good for this country and the entire Caribbean. Bahamian Ambassador to the United States Sidney Collie’s 2017 claim that “Trump loves The Bahamas” should have offset the unfortunate gangster remarks. Before the convenient and suspicious arrival of COVID-19 in early 2020, the American economy was performing at historic levels, with record low unemployment numbers, even within the African American community.

America’s unprecedented prosperity under Trump had trickled down to The Bahamas, to the extent that the year

2019 saw a record number of tourists, over seven million to be exact, vacationing here. Moreover, this overwhelming success in the tourism sector would lead to a prominent travel website awarding The Bahamas in 2018 with the Best Caribbean Destination and Best Caribbean Tourism Minister Awards.

COVID-19 threw a seemingly deliberate monkey wrench in the Trump camp’s plans at being re-elected.

That, coupled with the race riots across the United States subsequent to the murder of George Floyd, was too much for Trump to overcome. Like the angry Trump demonstrators who overran Capitol Hill, I too was very saddened by the election results. But at the end of the day, we must abide by the results.

Trump’s legal team has failed to provide sufficient proof of widespread election fraud. Biden won 306 or 51.4 percent of the electoral votes to Trump’s 232 or 47.9 percent. Despite all the chatter within the Trump campaign, that margin of victory is simply too much to overcome in the courts. The time has come for Trump supporters to accept the results and move on.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama.

January 7, 2021.

Parliament ban on oil EDITOR, The Tribune.

LET us hear from our parliamentarians.

Will they not protect our natural heritage, and use their authority to ban oil drilling or end the activity of BPC by some other legislative means? Perhaps the members of the House of Assembly and the Senate think that Parliament has no such authority. Or, worse, perhaps they would like the Bahamian people to believe the same so that the role Parliament can and should play in this drama remains opaque.

Let us resist the opaque.

Policy decisions of the executive branch of government arguably tie the hands of the executive branch. But those same decisions do not constrain the legislative branch of government in the same way or to the same degree. Parliament’s sovereignty in all matters is only limited by the requirement that all legislation must be consistent with the Constitution. So, if the Prime Minister and the Attorney General really want to level with the Bahamian people about whether the Government has the authority to stop the impending travesty of drilling in our precious waters, they would stop playing games and explain to the people why they fear legislation to ban oil drilling might be unconstitutional.

They should then let our primary democratic institution decide on policy in this matter of such incredible national importance.

Let us drill a bit deeper (no pun intended). We understand that the principle of stability and continuity of governance requires the governing administration to honour administrative decisions by former or current government officials. Good governance needs the decisions of the executive to be respected by those elected and non-elected public officials charged with administering such agreements, decisions, and government policies. This norm is consistent with liberal-theory notions that protect individuals against arbitrary administrative decision-making by public officials. Individuals can rely on administrative and contract laws in support of this principle. And when Attorney General Bethel alludes to the hands of the government being tied, in relation to the exploratory oil-drilling licenses

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net that have already been approved and relied upon, he is referring to these sort of legal restraints.

The problem is that we know successive administrations have bypassed these restraints when it has suited them, and have taken their chances in court in defending their actions. Furthermore, when breaches of these continuity norms have occurred, other good-governance principles have been used in defense – such as an elected administration, acting in the public interest and in the interest of the policies that got it elected, has the duty to correct the policy mistakes of a former administration.

Let us be clear. The legal restraints that support good governance continuity and stability norms of the actions of the executive do not operate in the same way in relation to the legislature. Our Westminster style of government supports the principle that legislation should, as far as possible, not interfere with agreements that a former or current administration has made with a private person or entity. But if Parliament seeks to intervene, the only legal restraint on parliamentary action is the Constitution.

Let us return to the basic question: if Parliament were to pass a law to ban oil drilling in The Bahamas or to effectively invalidate BPC’s exploratory oil-drilling licenses, would that violate the Constitution? This is the question that our MPs should be asking. No doubt, BPC would rely on Article 27 of the Constitution. BPC would have to convince the Supreme Court that a law banning oil drilling would amount to the compulsory possession or acquisition of their property without compensation. A law banning drilling or invalidating licenses that have already been approved and relied upon is clearly not the same as an act of possession or acquisition. Still, there is the risk that a lawyer might be able to convince the courts that such an enactment would amount to an acquisition of BPC’s property by way of BPC having its “property” (namely BPC’s expected profits should oil be found) being taken away. They would

argue that the Constitution protects individuals from compulsory deprivation of property, even though the relevant constitutional provision only states the fundamental protection in terms of a protection against the compulsory possession or acquisition of property without compensation. Though past cases are clear that the constitutional protection against compulsory acquisition of property without compensation (the phraseology of Article 27 of the Constitution) is a different and narrower protection than a constitutional protection against compulsory deprivation of property without compensation, which some constitutions of other countries afford, there is a risk here. But given the almost incalculable loss that allowing any form of oil drilling in Bahamian waters represents, surely Parliament must see that it has a duty to take on that risk and legislate to protect our natural heritage and Bahamian identity. The risk analysis is complicated by the marginal note to Article 27 that, although strictly not a part of Article 27, refers to the provision as “protection from deprivation of property”. The phraseology is repeated in Article 15 of the Constitution – an Article of the Constitution that is generally considered unenforceable because it is regarded as a preamble to the more detailed fundamental freedoms that follow it, though this point, regarding the enforceability of Article 15, remains moot for some very good reasons.

Let the Prime Minister and his fellow parliamentarians hear our plea: lead your fellow law-makers in Parliament, Prime Minister. Bring to the floor of the House, or support a private members’ bill, to ban any form of oil-related drilling in the Bahamas. Bahamians know you can make hard decisions in the national interest. And we are grateful. Now the world is watching the manner of our bearing – specifically the question of our sovereignty and the presumption of constitutionality that attaches to all enactments of our Parliament. BPC has fewer moves available to it if the sovereign authority of Parliament (limited only by the Constitution) acts to resolve this matter.

MICHAEL STEVENSON Nassau, January 7, 2021.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, January 12, 2021, PAGE 7

EDUCATION Minister Jeff Lloyd with members of the 1977 Alumni of St Augustine’s College and, below, some of the devices they donated.

Photos: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

Alumni give helping hand THE Ministry of Education’s device drive received a generous donation from the 1977 Alumni of St Augustine’s College.

The group, coordinated

by Nickola Gomez-Dawkins, donated 39 tablets with keyboards and data to the cause on Friday, January 8.

Mrs Dawkins said the group heeded to the ministry’s call and decided to take action as its members could not imagine a single child not being afforded the opportunity for an education. She also acknowledged Aliv as a critical partner in their initiative.

Education director Marcellus Taylor conveyed gratitude to the alumni. He said that “there is a spirit of excellence in SAC.” Education Minister Jeffrey Lloyd, a former educator at SAC and the group’s former English

The Business Office of

WOODLAWN GARDENS LIMITED has relocated to

82 Dowdeswell Street.

The telephone numbers remain the same.

(242) 393-2541/2 language teacher, was pleased to accept the donation.

“I will not be satisfied until every public school child has a device exclusively for his or her education. This is the new

NEW ROLE FOR SIR RONALD VETERAN Caribbean diplomat Sir Ronald Sanders has been named to a ten-person committee to conduct an inquiry into the future of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London.

The announcement was made by the University’s vice chancellor, Prof Wendy Thompson. The committee will be chaired by Sir Malcolm Rifkind, a former British Defence and Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary.

Sir Ronald, who is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the OAS, has been involved in Commonwealth matters in various capacities since 1982. His scholarly work on the Commonwealth has been widely published and he was the Rapporteur of the Eminent Persons Group, created by Heads of Government to make recommendations on reform of the Commonwealth in 2011.

Ambassador Sanders said: “I am delighted to serve on this important committee.

The Commonwealth has been a significant actor in world politics – for instance in

ending Apartheid in South Africa. Because of its diverse membership, it has the capacity to help the world negotiate solutions to global problems. Therefore, Commonwealth studies are important to iniversity teaching and research”.

Other members of the committee are drawn from the academic community and include Prof Asha Kanwar, president and CEO of the Commonwealth of Learning, and Dr Joanna Newman, chief executive and Secretary General of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. From the practical world of Commonwealth relations, other committee members are Stephen Twigg, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and Michael Kirby, former Justice of the High Court of Australia.

The committee will hold its first meeting on January 21. It is expected to take evidence from across the Commonwealth and submit its report and recommendations by June 2021.

Sir Ronald’s weekly column is published in The Tribune every Monday.

SHOOTING VICTIM IN HOSPITAL A NEW Providence man is in hospital after he was shot on Saturday.

According to police, shortly after 2pm three men were at Ferguson Way off Joe Farrington Road when they were approached by a gunman

N O T I C E

who opened fire on them.

One of the men was injured. Emergency Medical Services transported the victim to the hospital however his condition is not known at this time.

Investigations into this matter continue.

reality and we have to accommodate it,” the minister said.

To date, 41,000 devices have been donated to the drive with about 6,000 more needed to meet the ministry’s goal.

Business hours are Monday to Friday 9:00 to 5:00

PAGE 8, Tuesday, January 12, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

‘What you do always speaks louder than what you say’ WHEN a man decides to pick up a pen and write about love, it can be epic.

Often, women express themselves and share their emotions more freely.

Society has taught males to suppress their feelings which can have negative effects on their lives. Both males and females should be taught to embrace their feelings and become more emotionally intelligent. So, when Adrianna Munnings told me about a man who was willing to bare his soul onto a page in a beautiful way, I wanted to meet him and to hear his story.

Kendal Valentino Smith has just released a book about his passions, deep desires, love and life lessons in a book that has just debuted not only in The Bahamas, but the Caribbean. His book of poetry “Passion: The Art of Making Love & War” has already been featured by Caribbean Magazine as a “breathtaking” work which covers everything from “women to love to spirituality”.

“My inspiration for putting pen to paper has been the experiences of my life,” said Kendal.

“For example, love for a woman, God, nature or even laughter... or the exact opposite, anger per se, at injustice. Ultimately I would say much of my inspiration would be divine or from deep within my psyche. I always keep a pen and pad next to my bed because sometimes I would hear verses in my dreams.

Could you imagine being asleep and hearing something like “Woe is me, how fortunate a fool, that a mere man unworthy as I, should make love to an angel?”

Eventually, those late night penned verses were compiled into a book that

Face to Face

By FELICITY DARVILLE

reflects his musings on life experiences.

Kendal was born in Nassau to Perry Smith (deceased) and Clementina Deveaux-Smith as the ninth of ten children. The Smiths raised their children between Nassau Village and Sea Breeze Estates, and Kendal often found his own way by connecting to the nature that surrounded their home.

“The Bahamas was a very different place then,” he recalls.

“I used to get in trouble – especially on a full moon.

I loved to sit outside, either on the roof top or on the bank of the canal in the wee hours of the morning.

It was very peaceful and I would have my book and my pen and just describe what I saw and what I felt. For me, poetry is like photography but instead of using a camera to capture the moment, I use a pen. Unequivocally, in terms of toughness and tenacity, my father was the greatest single influence in my life.

“Next to that, a day that changed my life was when in about third or fourth grade at C.W. Sawyer Primary, the then Prime Minister, Sir Lynden Pindling, along with Muhammad Ali, the World’s Heavy Weight Champion, came to my school. Even though there were many of us there, I felt as if they had come to see me. Ali did magic tricks and he and Sir Lynden then

planted a tree. I cannot begin to express the confidence, and the amount of patriotic pride that those men instilled in me that day. Hence many, many years later, I know that one man can indeed change the world.”

As Kendal grew, he too found ways to make a change in the world around him. He was very concerned about the wellbeing of his fellow man and his sense of national pride and responsibility grew. Eventually, this patriotism spurred him to seek political office in order to make significant and substantial changes for the benefit of his country.

At the age of 42, he launched his first political campaign as a candidate for the Democratic National Alliance (DNA).

“My first political campaign theme was: ‘I have come in the name of my KENDAL Valentino Smith and, God and in the service of left, his book of poetry. my country’. Justice and of Bahamians. Despite equality made me step for- every facade, despite talkward or rather... the lack ing points and soundbites, thereof. My life’s mantra what you do always speaks and modus operandi is: louder than what you say.”

‘Knowing that one man can Kendal ran twice in the indeed make a difference, General Elections in the my commitment Fox Hill conto the next gen- ‘I used to get stituency.

He eration is that in trouble – funded his own I will leave to campaign each them a better especially on time and despite world than the a full moon. the large finanone that I was I loved to sit cial burden born into’.” entailed, he per“When I was a outside, either severed. While boy growing up, on the roof top his political The Bahamas or on the bank aspirations have was owned by not ended, he Bahamians and of the canal in has decided to there was a cer- the wee hours focus on other tain pride and aspects of nation of the morning.’ passion that we building. were the masHis reperters of our own destiny. In toire is wide and diverse. my adult life, I have clashed He is just as skilful with his with many who were in pen as he is with his instrupower, whose actions and ment, the bass guitar. This policies dictated that a musician is well known in Bahamian-owned Bahamas his own right as a member was not in the best interest of the popular Legacy

Band. He plays along with Grammy award-winners Patrick Carey, Jeffrey Chea and Rick Carey.

His strong love of country led him to the beautiful and bountiful seas that surround this archipelago and he is currently a commercial fisherman. Fate led him down a path that brought him closer to scenes of nature that he loved as a boy, despite all of the educational and professional pursuits that came in between.

He was graduated from AF Adderley in 1986, then went on to attend the College of The Bahamas, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English. He then attended Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina, where he maintained a 3.75 GPA. His love for writing continued to grow, leading him to pursue and achieve a Master of Arts degree in Professional Writing from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia in 1997.

His strong command of the English Language is balanced by a knack for numbers, which led him into several management positions in his lifetime.

He served as a Purchasing Manager for Solomon’s Super Center; Sales and Marketing Manager for DanBrad Ltd, McDonald’s Bahamas; Super Value Store Manager and Purity Bakery Sales Manager over a span of more than two decades.

His love for English secured him two of his first

posts in editing and public relations in Virginia before he returned home. Back in Nassau, he served as a parttime lecturer for COB’s School of English studies for a time.

His pride and joy in writing has come home to roost with his first publication.

He describes his book: “Passion is an evocative journey through my romantic, social and political life.

The reader experiences a roller coaster effect of emotions, leaping from the mountains of ecstasy; melting in the fires of desire; frolicking in the fields of joy and laugher; drowning in the rivers of misty-eyed heartaches and plunging into the valleys of anguish and death... the reader experiences life.”

Amanda Knowles says; “Passion is a walk through the mind of a poetic genius” and Rivianna Smith called the book “amazing” and “highly recommended”.

“This book expresses love as the unbiddable, ungovernable, uncontrollable force that can overthrow empires, completely subduing the will of the individual,” Kendal says.

“Contrastingly, the book depicts in the Art of War, man’s inhumanity towards man in terms of race relations as well as political and socio-economic privileges.

In this regard, the message speaks to and encapsulates what is needed today in America and other countries around the world in terms of equal rights, liberty and justice.”

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, January 12, 2021, PAGE 9

ASSANGE - HERO OR VILLAIN - STILL SLIPS FROM US FINGERS The Peter Young column

JULIAN ASSANGE WikiLeaks co-founder principle of free speech and Julian Assange is back in a free press in a democthe news again. Not in the racy while protecting a American media, which government’s right to keep unsurprisingly remains its classified information obsessed with the current secure. drama in Washington, but in As a brief reminder of the UK from where the US the background, Assange government is seeking his jumped bail in England in extradition to face charges 2012 to escape an arrest over the publication of warrant for extradition thousands of classified doc- to Sweden to face sexual uments in 2010 and 2011. assault charges which The 49-year-old Aus- were later dropped. He tralian national is accused took refuge in the Ecuaof conspiring to hack into dorian embassy in London US military databases to for seven years, claiming acquire sensitive material he was a victim of human classified as secret which rights abuses and would was then published on the be given a life sentence in WikiLeaks website. This the US if extradited there. case remains controver- His asylum was revoked by sial because it involves the Ecuador in 2012 and he was

rearrested by British police in 2019 and has been held since then in a high-security prison.

Then - on January 4 - a UK judge blocked a US extradition request because of concerns over Assange’s mental health and the risk of suicide if he were committed to a prison in America.

The US government insists the leaks not only broke the law but also endangered lives and it has appealed the ruling. While

AMID perilous times in the US, there has been so much coverage of last week’s storming of the Capitol Building in Washington, played out incessantly on TV screens, that I hesitate to add further thoughts.

Suffice it to say the violent assault by a mob of Trump supporters on the symbol of America’s democracy, leading to death and destruction, was a disgrace – and this catastrophic demonstration that soon escalated out of control and descended into mayhem has been condemned by all, including President Trump himself. One of the US’s most sacred institutions was defiled and this is now being called a dark and low point in American political history.

There can be little doubt that accusations that Trump incited the aggressive actions of his supporters are justified. My wife and I watched his televised speech to a huge gathering of them shortly before they made their way to the Capitol, and we were appalled by the inflammatory language he used which appears to have fomented the disorder and violence, even if only indirectly. This was dangerous and incendiary rhetoric and the outcome was surely not hard to predict.

Despite these terrible events, however, I cannot help wondering, probably like many others, whether some of the drama and conflict in the weeks following the November 3

allows democracy to function, there is a danger that people will lose confidence in the nation’s public and political institutions. If the “soon to be ex-President” had had his day in court, controversy over the election ought to have been laid to rest as his claim that he won in a landslide would have been discredited. What is now of major concern is the future unity of the nation, with some 75 million Republican supporters who voted for Trump in November still feeling that the election was stolen from him and them.

Be that as it may, the big question now is whether the former President has irretrievably sabotaged his political legacy. Most Americans will surely hope that, at this late stage with just over a week to go before Biden’s inauguration, impeachment will fail, since it will serve no purpose other than presumably trying to stop him from standing again in 2024.

It will be seen as vengeful retribution on the part of Democrats who never accepted Trump’s victory in 2016 – and it will divide the country further and perhaps irrevocably.

Last week’s events are a sad ending to the Trump presidency, but many say that to an extent he brought it on himself. We may not have seen the last of him, however, for he has vowed that the ‘America First’ movement is far from over.

WAS IT ALL A BIT TOO HASTY? presidential election might have been avoided if the courts had not rejected out of hand – which, as I understand it, is what happened – the Republicans’ accusations of fraud without, reportedly, considering the substance or the merits of their case at all.

Even allowing for the reluctance of the courts to be drawn into politics, some observers think a smarter approach would have been to have gone through the motions and heard the allegations rather than instantly dismiss them.

That is not to suggest the alleged fraud was sufficiently widespread or significant for the result of the election to be overturned. But, despite the Democrats’ continuing claims that it is unsubstantiated, there have been hundreds, if not thousands, of sworn affidavits by election workers who have also given oral evidence of alleged irregularities and fraud surrounding parts of the electoral process; and many argue that, at the very least, their testimony should have been tested in court. What is more, assuming the courts, as expected, would have ruled against the allegations, Joe Biden’s legitimacy as the undisputed new President would have been thereby strengthened.

Now, because of Trump’s earlier withdrawal of “loser’s consent’”, which is a basic principle that

AN EXCEPTIONAL MAN FOR ALL SEASONS ALTHOUGH it was known that he had been in declining health for some time, it was nevertheless disturbing and saddening to hear the sudden news of the passing last week of Sir William Allen. A former Governor of the Central Bank, he was, of course, a distinguished statesman who was Minister of Finance in the 1990s in the FNM administration led by then Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham.

Those who have read Mr Ingraham’s wonderful tribute to him will be aware of the extraordinary contribution Sir William made to the nation during an exemplary career in the public service and in so many other ways.

A person of enormous ability and achievement, his formidable intellect was

matched by integrity of the highest order, combined with a grace, kindness and civility in his dealings with others. Moreover, his reputation spread beyond these shores.

In its 1996 supplement on The Bahamas, the Financial Times in London praised the achievement of the then FNM government under Mr Ingraham’s able leadership in restoring the country’s reputation after the difficult years of the 1980s; and it recognised the importance of good economic management and reform for which the Minister of Finance was directly responsible.

On a personal level, Bill – as his friends knew him – could not have been kinder or more approachable.

Apart from official meetings, our paths crossed at

lunches and dinners as well as the occasional encounter on the golf course – and on one memorable day we met by chance in the centre of Wimbledon where he was visiting his son who was studying in the UK! It has always been evident Sir William Allen was widely admired as a wonderful person with a fine reputation. Over the years, he achieved so much and did endless good deeds in different spheres and at all levels, and he affected positively the lives of so many people.

It was a privilege to have known him. My wife and I would like to offer heartfelt sympathy and deepest condolences to his dear wife Aloma and to the rest of the family.

this is being heard, the same judge has denied Assange’s request for bail on the basis there were substantial grounds to believe he might abscond.

As I pointed out in an article following Assange’s arrest in 2019, the description by WikiLeaks of its work of publishing classified information obtained from anonymous sources sounds not much different from some investigative journalism. But the US indictment, which has been made public, seems to be based on allegations that, rather than simply receiving information from others, he conspired to crack government computer codes.

So, the basic question seems to me to be whether his organisation was a bastion of transparency – because publicising facts the government does not want the public to know about helps to hold it accountable – or whether, by obtaining material illegally, it was acting irresponsibly and in a potentially dangerous manner and even putting the lives of government employees at risk.

Of course, in open democratic societies over the years there have always been cases of the media publishing what may be regarded as sensitive material and refusing to reveal its sources. Such issues have long been subject to debate in the context of Official Secrets legislation and

there are conflicting views about determining what information the public has a right to know.

Investigative journalism is crucial in ensuring the health of democracies and this has been bolstered

by Freedom of Information legislation in many countries. But the activities of WikiLeaks surely exceed what could be considered reasonable and acceptable behaviour.

Proactively, systematically and illegally hacking into government-owned computers containing classified material is what hostile foreign intelligence organisations attempt to do. This amounts to criminal activity and should surely be considered beyond the scope of probing journalism.

There are also privacy laws and practical considerations. It would be impossible to conduct government business properly, not least with foreign countries, in a blaze of publicity. Detailed discussion of policy leading up to decision-making has to be carried out privately and in confidence. So, for example, the disclosure

by WikiLeaks of the content of diplomatic cables is unacceptable.

Moreover, indiscriminate leaking of official communications is likely to make governance more difficult and therefore is hardly in the public interest.

Overall, if there is

concern about the actions of governments, there are established ways of legally protesting in order to persuade them to change course – from investigative journalism to the extreme of public demonstrations on the streets and, ultimately, the ballot box.

So, the fundamental question remains. Assange and his supporters say he is ‘shining a light on all the corruption in the world’ and exposing war crimes and other abuses carried out by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan. But can it ever be right in a democratic society to allow a selfappointed organisation like WikiLeaks to determine what is in the public interest and thereby justify the theft and leaking of classified documents belonging to an elected government?

I happen to believe the answer to that is ‘no’ and that such action should be prevented. But the issue remains controversial and there are many who think otherwise. Moreover, the evidence suggests there are similarly many in Britain who not only consider US prison conditions can all too often be ‘dangerously inhumane’ but that Assange’s actions do not deserve the extreme sanction of life imprisonment.

So they believe the judge was right to refuse the US extradition request – and they hope this decision will be upheld on appeal.

PAGE 10, Tuesday, January 12, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

CUBA HIT WITH NEW TERROR SANCTIONS

THE Trump administration yesterday re-designated Cuba as a “state sponsor of terrorism”, hitting the country with new sanctions.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the step, citing Cuba’s continued harbouring of US fugitives, its refusal to extradite Colombian guerrilla commanders as well as its support for Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

Removing Cuba from the blacklist had been one of former President Barack Obama’s main foreign policy achievements as he sought better relations with the island, an effort endorsed by Biden as his vice president.

Ties had been essentially frozen after Fidel Castro took power in 1959.

As he has with Iran, Trump has sought to reverse many of Obama’s decisions involving Cuba.

He has taken a tough line on Havana and rolled back many of the sanctions that the Obama administration had eased or lifted.

PARLER KICKED OFF INTERNET THE conservativefriendly social network Parler was booted off the internet on Monday over ties to last week’s siege on the US Capitol, but not before hackers made off with an archive of its posts, including any that might have helped organise or document the riot.

Amazon kicked Parler off its web-hosting service, and the social media app promptly sued to get back online.

Google also yanked Parler’s smartphone app from its app store on Friday for allowing postings that seek “to incite ongoing violence in the US” and Apple followed suit on Saturday.

VIOLENT protesters, loyal to President Donald Trump, storm the Capitol, in Washington on Wednesday last week.

Photo: John Minchillo/AP

FBI warns of nationwide armed protests in the US WASHINGTON Associated Press THE FBI is warning of plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitals and in Washington, DC, in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, stoking fears of more bloodshed after last week’s deadly siege at the US Capitol.

An internal FBI bulletin warned, as of Sunday, that the nationwide protests may start later this week and extend through Biden’s January 20 inauguration, according to two law enforcement officials who read details of the memo to The Associated Press. Investigators believe some of the people are members of extremist groups, the officials said.

“Armed protests are being planned at all 50 state capitols from 16 January through at least 20 January, and at the US Capitol from 17 January through 20 January,” the bulletin said, according to one official.

The FBI issued at least one other bulletin before the riots last week.

On December 29, it warned of the potential for armed demonstrators targeting legislatures, the second

official said.

Army Gen Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, told reporters yesterday that the Guard is also looking at any issues across the country, “We’re keeping a look across the entire country to make sure that we’re monitoring, and that our Guards in every state are in close coordination with their local law enforcement agencies to provide any support requested,” he said.

The riots followed weeks of online calls for violence in the nation’s capital in the waning days of Donald Trump’s presidency.

A tweet in which Trump promised that last Wednesday’s event in Washington, DC, “will be wild” fueled a “month-long frenzy of incitements, strategising, and embrace of violence against lawmakers,” according to a research group that tracks online extremism activity, In a report issued Saturday, the SITE Intelligence Group also warned that the Capitol attack has emboldened Trump-supporting extremists.

“No matter how all this plays out, its only the beginning,” posted a user on TheDonald message board,

according to the report.

Mark Pitcavage, a senior research fellow at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, said authorities in state capitals and other major cities besides Washington should prepare for the possibility of violent protests next week.

“A lot of people were energised by what happened last week,” he said. “State capitals are a natural place where people might want to show up, especially assuming that they think there might be a huge presence of police and military in DC because of what happened last week.”

Pitcavage tracks militia, white supremacists and other far-right extremists, but he said the Capitol siege demonstrated the emergence of a new movement of “Trumpist extremists, so caught up in the cult of personality around Trump that they may be willing to break the law or engage in violence purely in support of Trump and whatever he wants”.

The talk of armed marches next week isn’t limited to “radicalised” Trump supporters. State capital events on January 17 appear to be promoted by supporters

of the anti-government, pro-gun “boogaloo” movement. Boogaloo followers advocate for a second civil war or the collapse of society, and they don’t adhere to a coherent political philosophy.

Posts on social media sites also have promoted a “Million Militia March” on the day of Biden’s inauguration. Pitcavage said the event, apparently organised by a promoter of the pro-Trump “QAnon” conspiracy theory, appears unlikely to draw a massive crowd.

Javed Ali, a former FBI senior intelligence officer who teaches courses in counterterrorism at the University of Michigan, said it can be challenging for law enforcement to identify the line between people exercising their constitutionally protected rights to bear arms and free speech and those who pose “a real operational threat”.

“The FBI just can’t passively sit in websites and forums and social media platforms, waiting to see who’s going to present a direct threat versus just someone who is being highly radicalised,” he said.

“There has to be an investigative predicate for the FBI to then start even the lowest form of an investigation.”

SPORTS PAGE 11

TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2021

Cambridge sisters making presence felt on the track

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

T

hey are basketball players for the CR Walker Knights senior girls’ basketball team, but sisters Keanna and Kaiya Cambridge are making their presence felt on the track as well for Power Athletics.

In the T-Bird Flyers Track Classic on Saturday to officially kick off the new year for the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations, the siblings went head-to-head for the first time and older sister Kaiya said there was no way she was going to let Keanna beat her.

The two went headto-head in the combined under-17, under-20 and open women’s 400 metre hurdles as the meet started to wind down with some events getting cut off the schedule at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

Keanna Cambridge stopped the clock in one minute and 10.33 seconds for the victory in the under20 girls’ division; Kaiya Cambridge followed for the win in the under-17 girls’ division in 1:10.72 and University of the Bahamas Mingoes’ Gabrielle Shannon was the open women’s winner in 1:11.55.

“When I first started, like my coach said, control and then attack the hurdle,” said the 17-yearold Keanna, who is in the 12th grade. “I maintained control and then attacked the hurdle on the back straight.

“On the seventh hurdle, I hit it and I saw my little sister coming, so I just ran and pushed until I reached home. I wasn’t going to let her beat me. She’s younger than me. We’ve never raced together before.”

While this is the third year that the reigning Government Secondary

Schools Sports Association champion is running the event, it’s the second for her 15-year-old sister, who won the under-17 girls’ title last year.

“That was terrible because I thought I was only going to come out here and run with the under-17 girls, even though I would have still been scared, but I would have managed to get through,” Kaiya said. “I came out here and they told me I have to run against my sister. She is 17. I am 15.

“The race was actually kind of good. I did better than I thought. The last time I ran out here, I did 1:18.2, but with the help of coach Ednol Rolle, he taught me how to do the 400m hurdles, how to run, pick up and bring your leg over completely because I would normally leave it behind looking like a ballerina in the air. But he taught me well.”

Javonya Walcott, representing Fast Forward, won the under-20 girls’ 800m in 2:30.10. Cynae Hall of RedLine Athletics was second in 3:16.36 and Brianna Rolle of Another Level Track was third in 4:02.97.

“It was really cold out there, but I felt I did very good,” said Walcott, the 16-year-old 11th grader at Queen’s College. “I need more practice. I want to qualify in the 400 and 800m in the under-20 girls. I need to work on my speed and get stronger for the 800m.”

Wendell Miller, competing for Power Athletics, showed that he was right on form as he won the under-20 boys’ 400m in 49.57. Lamont Moss of DTSP Wolf Pack was second in 50.27 and Antonie Andrews of Speed Dynamic was third 50.52.

“I think I did very well today in my performance in the 400m. I think I executed very well and I did what I was supposed to do,” said the tall, lanky

Izaak Bastian and Seminoles continue undefeated season

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net IZAAK Bastian and the No.16 Florida State Seminoles swimming and diving programme were back in the pool for the first time since late November and continued their undefeated season.

The Seminoles defeated the LSU Tigers 170.50 91.50 to improve to 3-0 at the Morcom Aquatics Center in Tallahassee, Florida, on Friday.

Bastian’s 200-yard medley relay team began the meet on a high note for the Seminoles by setting a new site record in the event.

He teamed with Mason Herbet, Domen Demsar and Peter Varjasi to finish in 1:26.85 seconds which surpassed the mark of 1:27.30 set by the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2018.

Individually, Bastian finished third in the 100 yard Breast in 55.32 and third in the 200 yard Breast in 2:00.26.

“I thought we had a pretty good day. We’ve only been back in the water this week and I liked what I saw,” said FSU head coach Neal Studd. We had some great swims from both

teams and I am really proud of the effort.”

The Seminoles will return to the Morcom Aquatics Center for a meet against Gardner-Webb om January 16.

Bastian’s junior season began with an active November once competition began.

He finished third in the 200 yard breast (1:56.72) and fourth (54.36) in the 100m breast at the Georgia Invite.

He was also 11th in the 50 yard free (20.45) and was a member of the third place 200 medley relay.

Against TCU, he finished third in the 100 yard breast (55.32) and 200 yard breast (2:00.26).

In the only ACC meet of the season thus far, Bastian won the 100 yard breast (55.40) and was second in the 200 yard breast (2:04.23) against RV Georgia Tech.

NFL Playoffs, PAGE 12

‘BUDDY’ HIELD AND KINGS HOLD OFF PACERS 127-122

By MICHAEL WAGAMAN Associated Press

SISTERS Kaiya and Keanna Cambridge during the T-Bird Flyers Track Classic at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium on Saturday.

Miller, who is an 18-yearold now in the 12th grade at St John’s College.

“In the 400m, I’m hoping to do 46 or 47 and the 400m hurdles, I want to do at least 52. In the 400m, I need to work on my finish and in the 400m hurdles, I have it down.”

Lhvinne Joseph, home from school in Iowa, took the open men’s 800m in a showdown right to the finish line in 2:00.83.

Auston Clarke of Speed Dynamic was second in 2:00.933 and Tyler Gardiner of the University of Bahamas was third in 2:01.97.

“The race was alright.

It felt smooth,” said the 19-year-old graduate of CR Walker. “It burnt a little

being the first meet, but the plan was to stay strong, but not really take it out too fast. I wanted to sit behind the boys and wait to kick and that was it. That was the race.”

When he returns to school, Joseph said he’s hoping to lower his personal best of 1:56 to be at least 1:53 or faster, even though he said it’s “a lot colder than here.”

He said the people are “really nice” and that has made “everything smooth” for him.

Cresswell Farrington of Swift Athletics also had a tough battle at the line, winning the under-20 boys’ 800m in 2:05.51. His teammate Paulindo Boyer was second in 2:06.16 as they

staved off the late attack

by T-Bird Flyers’ Amando Poitier, who was third in 2:06.81.

“To me it was perfect because I had my partner on the side of me to motivate me the whole race,” said Farrington, a 17-yearold 12th grader at CR Walker. “He helped me with the whole race to get me through.

“At the start, it was a very fast pace. I had to slow down the pace and run my own race and let them run their race and just let them run their race. Then I catch them.”

Raymond Winder of Hurry Murray won the under-17 boys’ 800m in

SEE PAGE 12

Wizards beat Ayton and Suns 128-107 for first home victory WASHINGTON (AP) — Bradley Beal scored 34 points and the Washington Wizards snapped their three-game losing streak and won at home for the first time this season, beating Deandre Ayton and the Phoenix Suns 128-107 last night.

Ayton scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds in 25 minutes on the floor. He also dished out one assist with a blocked shot and had two turnovers.

The Wizards (3-8), who had lost five straight at home, played without guard Russell Westbrook.

He will miss at least a week with a left quadriceps injury.

Devin Booker paced Phoenix (7-4) with 33 points. Chris Paul had 14 points and 11 assists.

Mikal Bridges also had 14.

Beal, the NBA’s leading scorer, had eight rebounds and nine assists. He missed Saturday’s game with Miami because he was in the NBA’s health and safety protocol.

In his previous two games, Beal scored 101 points, tying the team

PHOENIX Suns centre Deandre Ayton (22) goes to the basket against Washington Wizards centre Robin Lopez, left, during the first half last night in Washington.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass) record with 60 points on Wednesday at Philadelphia and hitting for 40 at Boston on Saturday.

Washington never trailed and was ahead by 32 with 4:16 to play in the second quarter.

The Wizards played their first game without centre Thomas Bryant, who suffered a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Bryant injured the knee in the first two minutes of Saturday’s game and is likely to miss the rest of the season.

Davis Bertans had 18 points for Washington, all on 3-pointers.

UP NEXT Suns: Host the Hawks on Wednesday Wizards: Host the Jazz on Wednesday

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) — Chavano “Buddy” Hield made a 3-pointer moments after Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis had a basket taken away following a replay review, and the Sacramento Kings beat the Pacers 127122 last night.

Hield finished with 18 points on six 3s as the Kings won for the second time in seven games. He also had four rebounds, three assists, a steal and two turnovers in 31 minutes on the court.

Harrison Barnes had a season-high 30 points and eight rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox added 21 points and nine assists.

The Kings held a onepoint lead when Sabonis went up underneath the basket and was credited with a bucket when Richaun Holmes was called for goaltending with 1:25 remaining. After a lengthy review, the call was overturned.

After Hield’s 3 made it 121-117, Indiana’s Victor Oladipo missed from beyond the arc. Fox then scored on a soaring onehanded dunk.

Sabonis had 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers.

Malcolm Brogdon added 24 points, while Oladipo and Doug McDermott scored 21 apiece.

Fox made a buzzer-beating 3 to end the first half with the Kings up 65-64.

It came 10 seconds after Brogdon’s 3-pointer over the outstretched arm of the 6-foot-10 Holmes.

UP NEXT Pacers: Visit the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.

Kings: Host the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.

It will be the second game in four days between the teams, after the Blazers won 125-99 on Saturday.

NO. 1 ALABAMA WINS NATIONAL TITLE 52-24 OVER NO. 3 OHIO ST

By RALPH D RUSSO AP College Football Writer MIAMI GARDENS, Florida (AP) — DeVonta Smith was uncoverable, Najee Harris unstoppable and Mac Jones impeccable.

With a performance that was both surgical and explosive, No. 1 Alabama won the College Football Playoff national championship game 52-24 against No. 3 Ohio State last night.

The final game of a college football season in a pandemic, a season that was uncertain to be played in the summer and filled with disruptions in the fall, ended in the most predictable fashion: Alabama (13-0) as national champion for the sixth time in the last 12 years under coach Nick Saban.

For Saban, it was career title No. 7 overall, breaking a tie with Alabama great Paul “Bear” Bryant for the most by a major college coach. “To me this is the ultimate team,” Saban said. “There is more togetherness on this team than on almost any team we’ve ever had. They’ve had to overcome and to persevere so much through this season, and they have done it magnificently.”

PAGE12, Tuesday, January 12, 2021

SPORTS

THE TRIBUNE

NCAA D1 COUNCIL HOLDS OFF ON ATHLETE COMPENSATION, TRANSFERS

By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer THE NCAA delayed votes on legislation that would permit college athletes to cash in on their popularity for the first time and to transfer to another school without having to sit out one year.

The issues, originally scheduled to be voted on by the Division I Council (on Monday) yesterday, were expected to be the main storylines of this week’s NCAA annual convention. There was no announcement on when a vote might be taken.

“The Council remains fully committed to modernising Division I rules in ways that benefit all student-athletes,” said Council chairwoman M Grace Calhoun, athletics director at Pennsylvania.

“Unfortunately, external factors require this pause, and the Council will use this time to enhance the proposals.”

NCAA President Mark Emmert told The Associated Press on Saturday he recommended to the association’s two top governing

bodies to put off votes on name, image and likeness and the transfer proposals because of a letter he received from the Department of Justice about potential antitrust violations.

Under the NCAA’s current proposal, schools could block athletes from entering sponsorship agreements that conflict with their schools’ deals. For example, an athlete at a school associated with Nike could be prevented from entering an agreement with another shoe or apparel company. Also, athletes would not be permitted to endorse products or companies such as alcohol or gambling that conflict with NCAA values.

Makan Delrahim, assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s antitrust division, wrote the name, image and likeness proposal and the restrictions it put on athletes’ ability to access the free market could be problematic.

Delrahim said the NCAA’s transfer rules could also be in conflict with antitrust laws. A proposal that would loosen

restrictions on transferring athletes in high-profile sports such as football and basketball was expected to be passed.

In addition to the DOJ letter, the Supreme Court’s agreement last month to hear an antitrust case involving the NCAA later this year prompted a number of college sports leaders to recommend holding off on a vote.

Another factor is that the turnover in Congress could slow the process of passing federal legislation the NCAA is seeking to create uniformity in NIL rules. A federal law would override differing state laws that go into effect as soon as this summer and provide protection from legal challenges.

“All those things, they would spook a ghost,” said Blake Lawrence, the co-founder and CEO of athlete marketing platform Opendorse.

“It’s enough to feel as if there’s something bigger at play, so it does make sense to react with equal weight to the types of challenges that are being tossed at the NCAA right now.”

The NCAA’s proposed NIL legislation would allow athletes to strike financial deals with third parties to do things like endorse or sponsor products, make personal appearances or be an online influencer. Schools would not be involved in the compensation.

Six states have passed bills allowing college athletes to cash in on their names, images and likenesses.

Florida’s law is scheduled to go into effect in July. The hope has been for athletes to begin participating in NIL compensation in August.

“The runway is just getting shorter and shorter to get this right,” Lawrence said, “and there are so many moving parts that any delay just further complicates the ability for all the different constituents that are going to be involved in NIL to get it right the first time.”

Ramogi Huma, executive director of the National College Players Association, called the delay a “slap in the face to college athletes.”

“College athletes deserve fair treatment now, and they need lawmakers to grant them these freedoms once and for all,” Huma said.

The proposed one-time transfer rule would allow football players in the Bowl Subdivision and athletes in men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and men’s ice hockey to play immediately rather than sit out for a year the first time they move to another school.

The Justice Department is concerned about certain conditions that could discourage athletes from transferring.

The biggest has to do with athletes being required to notify their current school of their plan to transfer before they can have contact with another school.

Once that notice is given, the original school is allowed to take away or reduce the athlete’s scholarship.

The threat of that happening could dissuade athletes from even exploring the possibility of transferring.

WEST HAM SQUEEZES PAST NONLEAGUE STOCKPORT 1-0 IN FA CUP

GIANNIS RETURNS TO LEAD BUCKS PAST MAGIC 121-99 ORLANDO, Florida (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from a one-game absence because of a minor back injury and scored 22 points as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Orlando Magic 121-99 last night.

Antetokounmpo, the reigning two-time NBA MVP, started slowly and battled through secondhalf foul trouble before coming alive in the fourth quarter.

Milwaukee won a second straight and beat Orlando for a fifth consecutive time in the regular season.

Khris Middleton finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Bucks, while reserve Bobby Portis played well for a second straight game, scoring 20 points.

Nikola Vucevic had 28 points and 13 rebounds to lead the shorthanded Magic, who have lost three straight since Markelle Fultz was lost to a season-ending knee injury.

Aaron Gordon had 21 points, eight assists and five rebounds and contributed solid defence against Antetokounmpo.

HAWKS 112, 76ERS 94 ATLANTA (AP) — Trae Young scored 26 points, including the first three baskets of Atlanta’s dominant start to the second half, and the Hawks beat short-handed Philadelphia.

De’Andre Hunter and Brandon Goodwin had 15 points as the Hawks snapped a four-game losing streak. Clint Capela added 12 points and 10 rebounds as six Atlanta players scored in double figures. Young, who was held to a combined 22 points in his last two games, regained his scoring

T-BIRD from PAGE 11 2:12.722, but he had to avoid getting tripped up on the backstretch on the last lap. Berkley Munnings of Fast Forward Athletics was second in 2:17.97 “It went as planned. I was just trying to run it and take it out from the 200m, but I almost messed up because the boy tripped near the 200m and I almost fell trying to get around him,” Winder said. “The back of my leg is cramping up.”

Breyanna Kemp of Hurry Murray clocked 2:40.92 to take the under-17 girls’ 800m. Telica Seymour of the Road Runners was second in 2:44.763 and Melvinique of the T-Bird Flyers was third in 2:51.45. On the field, Holland Martin of Leap Of Faith cleared

MAGIC forward Dwayne Bacon, centre, tries to get off a shot between Bucks guard Jrue Holiday, left, and forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the second half yesterday in Orlando, Florida.

(AP Photo/John Raoux) touch. He opened the second half with a jumper before adding backto-back layups. Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Isaiah Joe had 18 points.

GRIZZLIES 101, CAVALIERS 91 CLEVELAND (AP) — Dillon Brooks scored 21 points and Memphis recovered after blowing a 16-point lead to beat Cleveland.

Brandon Clarke scored 15 points and Tyus Jones had 13 points, seven assists and three

steals for the Grizzlies, who won their second straight and improved to 3-1 on the road. Cavaliers centre Andre Drummond had 19 points and 14 rebounds for his 11th straight double-double to start the season. Dotson added 14 points and six assists, and Cedi Osman had 14 points.

HORNETS 109, KNICKS 88 CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Gordon Hayward scored 34 points and Charlotte beat New York for

its fourth straight win. Devonte Graham had 19 points and seven assists for Charlotte, and P.J. Washington had 13 points as the Hornets handed the Knicks their third straight defeat.

Kevin Knox had 19 points to lead the Knicks, and Mitchell Robinson had 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Hornets scored 24 points off 17 Knicks turnovers.

Charlotte committed 10 turnovers while climbing above .500 for the first time this season.

7.31m or 23-feet, 11 3/4-inches to clinch the victory in the open men’s long jump over team-mate Kaiwan Culmer, who had to settle for second with 6.92m (22-8 1/2).

Keianno Rolle of the University of Bahamas was third with 6.70m (21-11 3/4).

“It was really unexpected. I wasn’t supposed to compete. This was just supposed to be a training day for me,” Martin said.

“Somehow I ended up in the meeting. I was thankful for it. I actually got on the runway and saw what I have to fix. There’s a lot that I have to do, but I pray to God that everything falls into place as the journey continues.”

He hopes his journey will take him to the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, not only in qualifying, but if possible, winning a medal in the process.

Getting in some speed work as he prepares for the upcoming season, quarter-miler Stephen Newbold went down to the 100m where he clocked 10.99 to win the open men’s race.

Making his season debut as well was Jamaal Wilson in the men’s open high jump. He soared 2.15m (7-0 1/2), while Abner Johnson of the Blue Chips Athletics posted double victory in the open men’s shot put with 11.72m (38-5 1/2) and 30.96m (101-7) in the discus.

Tarajh Hudson of the Blue Chips Athletics’ also posted a pair of victories in the under-20 boys’ shot put with a heave of 15.02m (49-3 1/2) and the discus with 48.63m (159-6), while team-mate Keyshawn Strachan tossed the javelin 66.77m (219-0) for his triumph in the same category. Kaden Cartwright, also competing for Blue

Chips, was another double winner in the under-17 boys’ discus with 30.64m (100-6) and the javelin with 52.72 (172-11). Eyon Evans of Extreme Athletics won the shot with a heave of 10.05m (32-11 3/4).

Carnitra Mackey of the Blue Chips Athletics pulled off a double dose of victory in the under-20 girls’ shot put with 12.20m(40-0 1/2) and the javelin with 37.17m (121-11).

Shelby Knowles, also of Blue Chips Athletics, was the winner of the girls’ under-20 discus with 28.11m (92-2).

Leap of Faith got a 1-2 punch in the open women’s long jump as Tamara Myers cleared 6.40m (21-0) and Andira Ferguson did 5.50m (18-0 1/2). Celina Thompson, their team-mate, won the open women’s high jump with a leap of 1.60m (5-3).

STOCKPORT, England (AP) — West Ham staved off potential embarrassment in the FA Cup by scoring an 83rd-minute goal to see off non-league Stockport 1-0 in the third round yesterday.

A game that was briefly paused in the 15th minute because of a fireworks display near Edgeley Park failed to light up as West Ham struggled to cope with a cut-up, boggy field and driving rain against an opponent from the fifth tier.

It was left for Craig Dawson to save the visitors as the game approached a period of extra time, the centre back timing his late run into the penalty area to perfection following a quickly taken corner to meet an inswinging cross by Jarrod Bowen and head the ball into the bottom corner.

“It was tough,” Dawson said. “It’s been a while since I’ve played in conditions like that but it’s great to get a goal at the end.”

It earned West Ham a home match against thirdtier Doncaster in the fourth round.

Stockport was looking to follow fellow non-league team Chorley, which eliminated second-tier Derby on Saturday, in humiliating a side from the leading divisions, and included John Rooney — the brother of Derby manager and former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney — in its lineup.

The northwest team matched West Ham for large parts of the game, and gave up few clear-cut chances.

“West Ham had lots of possession but the lads did really well,” Stockport manager Jim Gannon said.

“It was always a stretch for us but the performance showed we are a cut above (non-league) level.”

RAVENS OUST TITANS, SAINTS HANDLE BEARS, NEXT FACE BUCS NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Lamar Jackson ran for 136 yards and a 48-yard touchdown while throwing for 179 more and the Baltimore Ravens rallied from 10 points down and beat the Tennessee Titans 20-13 Sunday in their AFC wild-card game.

Baltimore also shut down 2,000-yard rusher Derrick Henry and held Tennessee to its fewest points all season.

The Titans (11-6) had the ball and a chance to tie when Marcus Peters intercepted Ryan Tannehill’s pass intended for Kalif Raymond with 1:50 left.

The Ravens (12-5) snapped a string of 21 straight games lost by the franchise in either the regular season or playoffs when trailing by 10 or more.

Henry had his worst performance this season with 18 carries

for 40 yards. The Titans lost their first home playoff game in 12 years and now have had three of their past eight postseasons ended on their own field by Baltimore.

Jackson turned in the sixth 100-yard rushing game by a quarterback in the postseason, and joined Colin Kaepernick with two.

BROWNS 48, STEELERS 37 PITTSBURGH (AP) — Playing with first-year head coach Kevin Stefanski, Pro Bowl guard Joel Bitonio and top cornerback Denzel Ward back in Cleveland after all tested positive for COVID-19, Cleveland (12-5) raced to the biggest first half by a road team in NFL playoff history, then held on.

Baker Mayfield threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns,

including a screen pass that Nick Chubb turned into a 40-yard score that halted Pittsburgh’s momentum after the Steelers pulled within 12. Kareem Hunt added 48 yards and two touchdowns on the ground while Cleveland’s defence forced five turnovers to hand the Steelers (12-5) a staggering loss.

The victory was the Browns’ first postseason triumph of any kind since beating New England on New Year’s Day 1995 — three months before Mayfield was born — and their first playoff win on the road since December 28, 1969.

They did it despite practicing just once over the last two weeks and having lost 17 straight at Heinz Field.

The Steelers (12-5) certainly helped, ending a season in which they started 11-0 with a thud that could reverberate for years. Ben

Roethlisberger ended his comeback season by throwing for 501 yards on an NFL-record 47 completions with four touchdowns and four interceptions.

The 48 points were the most the Steelers have given up in the playoffs, surpassing the 45 they gave up to Jacksonville in the 2017 playoffs.

SAINTS 21, BEARS 9 NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Drew Brees completed 28 of 39 passes for 265 yards, connecting with Michael Thomas and Latavius Murray for touchdowns, and New Orleans defeated Chicago in an NFC wild-card game.

Alvin Kamara rushed for 99 yards and added a 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter after sitting out the regular-season finale and not practicing this past

week because of COVID-19 protocols. The victory for the Saints (13-4) and Brees, who turns 42 on Friday, sets up a divisional-round meeting next weekend in the Superdome with Tampa Bay and 43-year-old QB Tom Brady.

The Bears (8-9) put forth a scrappy performance defensively that prevented the Saints from building more than a one-touchdown lead until Murray’s 6-yard catch-and-run score made it 14-3 late in the third quarter.

But the Chicago offence struggled most of the game against a defence that ranked fourth in the NFL. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky completed 19 of 29 passes for 199 yards and one inconsequential TD pass to tight end Jimmy Graham as time expired.

The Bears were held to 48 yards rushing.

SPORTS

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, January 12, 2021, PAGE 13

Kai Jones and No. 4 Texas get 72-70 win over West Virginia

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net KAI Jones and the Texas Longhorns scored another win over a ranked opponent to highlight activity from Bahamian players in NCAA Division I basketball over the weekend.

With the help of some late-game heroics from Andrew Jones and his go ahead three pointer with 1.8 seconds left to play, the nationally ranked No.4 Longhorns defeated the No.14 West Virginia Mountaineers 72-70 on Saturday afternoon at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Jones finished with 10 points and four rebounds.

He reached double figures in scoring for the fifth time this year (11 games) and seventh time in his career.

He also tied his career high with two steals.

Texas is now 10-1 overall and 4-0 in Big 12 Conference play, their best conference start since the 2010-11 season.

It is also their best 11 game start since the 201415 season.

Jones is averaging nine points and five rebounds per game this season.

Texas returns to action when it hosts No. 18 Texas Tech 9pm local time on Wednesday, January 13, broadcast live on ESPN2.

Yolett McPhee-McCuin and her Ole Miss Rebels fell just short of their first win this season against a nationally ranked

opponent, despite a season best game from Valerie Nesbitt.

In her first start of the season, Nebitt finished with 18 points, four rebounds and three assists, but the Rebels could not erase a 14-point second half deficit in a 60-56 loss to the No.14 Mississippi State Bulldogs at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi on Sunday.

“That is what a rivalry game should look like,” McPhee-McCuin said.

“This isn’t a moral victory, but we did come on the road and compete against the No. 14 team in the country. A lot of things just didn’t go our way.”

Ole Miss fell to 7-2, 1-2 in Southeastern Conference play.

Ole Miss limited the Bulldogs to just 10 points in the final quarter during their final run, which included several key plays from Nesbitt down the stretch.

Nesbitt’s layup made it a two-point game at 58-56 with 1:00 even to play. With 25.3 seconds left, she came up with a steal to give Ole Miss one final opportunity to tie the game. That rally fell just short when the Rebels’ Donetta Johnson (who scored a team high 25) missed the potential game tying jumper.

Prior to the final possession, McPhee-McCuin’s message in the huddle to her team was to play freely.

“I just looked at them in the huddle and I said y’all, please do not quit on

TEXAS forward Kai Jones (22) goes for a score while defended by West Virginia forward Emmitt Matthews Jr. (11) during the second half on Saturday in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photos/Kathleen Batten) me right now,” McPheeMcCuin said.

“This is a moment of growth. I promise you we’re gonna have a chance to win this game. Let’s just tie it up and put the pressure solely on them. If we lose, it’s on me, so just play freely, and they just played freely.”

Ole Miss looks to even their SEC record Thursday, January 14 when they host the Missouri Tigers at 7pm local time.

Garvin Clarke had the best game of his freshman season thus far in limited minutes for the Akron Zips.

Clarke finished with a career high nine points

TEXAS forward Kai Jones (22), guard Matt Coleman III (2) and forward Greg Brown (4) celebrate after the game. and two steals in just seven minutes of the Zips’ 71-59 loss to Eastern Michigan on Saturday.

It was Clarke’s first game with multiple field goals made this season.

Ahmard Harvey had just two points as his Coastal

Carolina Chanticleers improved to 10-2 with an 83-69 win over South Alabama on Saturday.

Sammy Hunter had three points and two rebounds in his Ole Miss Rebels 75-61 loss to the LSU Tigers Saturday.

Zane Knowles, Dwight Coleby dominate

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net ZANE Knowles and Dwight Coleby delivered dominant performances for their respective teams as the Turkish Basketball First League concludes its regular season and teams jostle for playoff positioning.

Knowles finished with 21 points and a season high 19 rebounds for Baikesir Buyuksehir Belediyespor while Coleby added 18 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots for Merkezefendi Belediyesi Denizl. Knowles powered second ranked Baikesir to a 9-5 record

with a 97-95 win over sixth ranked Manisa.

Coleby earned TBL player of the week honours and led Denizl to an 84-59 win over Istanbul.

The win brought the club’s record to 7-7 and moved them into a tie with Duzce for the ninth and final playoff spot.

In round 15 of the regular season, Denzil and Duzce will faceoff with the final playoff spot on the line.

Knowles and Balikesir look to hold on to the second spot when they face Bornova.

The TBL is the second tiered league in the country. The league features 16 teams and the first

place finisher is promoted to the top tier Turkish Basketball Super League. Teams ranked 2nd place to 9th place compete in playoff format and the winner of the playoff also promotes.

The last two teams are relegated to the third tier Turkish Basketball Second League.

Both players have enjoyed success this season in Turkey, leading their teams on the boards as the top rebounders and second leading scorers.

Through 13 games, Knowles has averaged 14.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while Coleby has averaged 13.4 points and 11.9 rebounds per game in 14 games.

In a busy 2019-20 campaign, Knowles played in three leagues and two countries before the COVID-19 pandemic brought basketball to an end globally.

He concluded the year with Levski Lukoil of the Bulgarian NBL League.

In just two games with the club he averaged 13 points, seven rebounds and 1.5 steals per contest.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Coleby spent approximately a month of the previous season in Italy’s Lega Basket Serie A with perennial league contender Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari.

IN SPAIN, HIGGS SCORES SIDE HIGH 22 POINTS IN LOSS

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

HARBOUR Island native Lashann Higgs and her Club Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre suffered another defeat in the Spanish Women’s Professional Basketball League as they fell victim to Ciudad de La Laguna Tenerife 83-80 in overtime Saturday night.

“It was a close game,” said Higgs of the game that ended tied at 73 in regulation. “I thought we did really well. Just didn’t come out on top.”

Higgs led Club Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre, coached by Pepe Vazquez, with a side high 22 points.

In 32 minutes, she shot 6-for-17 or 35.3 percent from the field, 2-for-3 from behind the three-point arc (66.7%) and was a perfect 4-for-4 (100 percent) from the free throw line.

“I felt I could have hit a couple more shots, but besides that, I did fairly well,” said Higgs of her individual performance as she also pulled off three steals with two rebounds, while committing three personal fouls.

As they look ahead to the rest of the season, Higgs said their goal is to get better and hopefully they can win some more games.

Club Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre is currently 4-14 for 14th place in the league standings heading into their next game on Friday against the second ranked Valencia, who is an impressive 18-1 behind the front-running unbeaten 19-0 Avenida.

“We just do not want to dwell on what could have been, but just what we have to do to get better,” she stated.

In continuing to lead her team in statistics in just her first season as a pro after graduating from the University of Texas in 2019, Higgs said there’s still a lot more room for her to get better before the season is done.

“I am just trying to focus on my game and to get better and to keep learning more and more every game,” she said.

The 25-year-old shooting guard is averaging 15.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.

PAGE 14, Tuesday, January 12, 2021

SPORTS

THE TRIBUNE

MARIO BOWLEG, president of the Bahamas Basketball Federation, and referee Kevin ‘Island’ McPhee, pay their last respects to Michael ‘Scooter’ Reid.

Michael ‘Scooter’ Reid laid to rest

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net WHILE Bahamas Basketball Federation President Mario Bowleg called for the late Michael ‘Scooter’ Reid to be inducted into the National Hall of Fame, Apostle Dr Carlos Reid reiterated that the basketball courts at the Hope Center and the Peace on the Street Tournament will bear his brother’s name.

Dr Reid first made the announcement at the memorial service on the lawn of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture on Friday and again at the funeral service on Saturday at the Diplomat Center for the late ‘Scooter’ Reid, 57, who died on December 28, 2020.

In delivering the eulogy for his brother at the funeral service attended by staff at the Ministry of Sports, members of the basketball fraternity and parliamentarians Marvin Dames and Glenys HannaMartin as well as Dr Daniel Johnson, former minister of sports, Dr Reid said many people paint a different picture of ‘Scooter’ Reid.

The founder and pastor of the Hope Center noted that many people judged the former basketball player and slam dunk champion and track and field high jumper and distance runner, who got his nickname ‘Scooter’ Reid because of the way he ran around the track, but they didn’t know what he was going through.

“I believe that it is past time that we learn how to get rid of negative baggage and we learn how to forgive and we learn how to drop and leave it and let some things go,” Dr Reid said. “When we do, we release God’s hands to heal our hurts and restore our broken pieces. There are too many families that have been separated or dysfunctional because of this demon of unforgiveness.

“I remember holding onto some unforgiveness when it came to my brother Scooter. I had given my life to Christ and I wanted my brother to be who I wanted him to be. I held this against him until I came to the understanding that a lot that Scooter was battling, he didn’t order. I missed a lot of years.”

Over the past several years, Dr Reid said he got to know his brother a whole lot better and he realised that Scooter Reid had it all together better than him.

He said that while a lot of people wore masks so as to disguise who they really are, ‘Scooter’ Reid didn’t.

What you saw in him was who he really was.

“Scooter wasn’t a dumb fellow. He was a graduate of (Liberty) university. He was educated and he was more smarter than most people would ever know,” he said. “Scooter wrote speeches for ministers that he served under. My brother was a sports legend.

And I know that so many people say that he needs to be remembered.”

Not waiting for others to make it happen, Dr Reid said he will keep the memory of his brother alive by naming the basketball courts at the Hope Center,

the Michael ‘Scooter’ Reid Basketball Facility.

And he said the Peace on the Street Basketball Tournament, which was postponed last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, will be renamed the Michael ‘Scooter’ Reid Peace on the Street Basketball as they head into its 20th year of existence.

Bowleg, who called for a national Hall of Fame induction for his friend, said too often, persons like ‘Scooter’ Reid are overlooked of the contributions that they make, but he has vowed not to let his legacy fade because of what he did as a basketball player at the collegiate and national level, winning a number of individual and team titles along the way.

He noted that ‘Scooter’ Reid has also coached both men and women teams and having served as an officer in the Ministry of Sports, he helped to orchestrate the popular Father Marian Peters Invitational for high schools, serving as a referee and administrator as well as the operation of the Long Island Basketball Classic.

“The Bahamas Basketball Federation signifies Michael ‘Scooter’ Reid as a basketball icon that served the Commonwealth of the Bahamas with grace and humility,” Bowleg said.

“However, that alone does not do full justice to the man. We believe that ‘Scooter basketball will be alive and well and bouncing in heaven.”

Kimberly Rolle, the athletic director of the University of the Bahamas, in her ‘As I Knew Him,’ said her first recollection of ‘Scooter’ Reid was when he was in the eighth or ninth grade at SC McPherson playing for the Sharks’ basketball team at the Father Marcian Peters Invitational.

She noted that after one of their games, ‘Scooter’ Reid walked over to her coach Vincent Sullivan and told him that “this girl could play college ball.”

A few years after she began playing with coach Anthony Swaby, ‘Scooter’ Reid once again reiterated his remark about her capabilities.

Eventually, those few words cemented her future as Rolle went on to play college basketball and on various national basketball teams. They developed a bond from there up to the time of his death when they worked together as administrators, providing his insight especially on the Mingoes men’s basketball team.

His long-time close friend Michael ‘Banana’ Johnson, who also spoke on ‘As I Knew Him,’ said their relationship went back to the days when they were in grade seven and they started attending Bahamas Youth Camp every summer.

He noted that they were delighted because they got to play basketball all day, eat three meals a day and in the evening they got to show of their bible knowledge to the pretty girls.

“Back then, Mike was the only guy I knew who could run all day. He had a motor in him,” Johnson said. “He also could memorise and quote scriptures.”

Later, they started a ministry where they went

MEMBERS of the basketball fraternity paying their last respects to the late Michael ‘Scooter’ Reid on Saturday.

throughout the parks in the communities, not only in New Providence, but in the Family Islands, where they provided basketball games and then shared a devotional message.

The Long Island community was probably the last to benefit from the hard work of ‘Scooter’ Reid.

In a video tribute, many persons from the island reflected on how ‘Scooter’ Reid helped to develop the Long Island Basketball Classic into one of the most vibrant events today.

Also during the video presentation, Eric Gordon Sr, a former team-mate at Liberty University, talked about their connection where ‘Scooter’ Reid developed a wholesome name for himself as a Dennis Rodman-style tenacious player on both ends of the basketball court.

Dames, the Member of Parliament for Mt Moriah, which included Yellow Elder where ‘Scooter’ Reid spent a lot of his spare time working in the community, along with Hanna, the MP for Englerston, both talked about their interaction with ‘Scooter’ Reid and their desire to see something permanent done to remember him.

And Reid’s oldest son, D’Angelo Reid along with moderator Ricardo Turner, pastor of Englerston Gospel Chapel and Dr Dave Burrows, pastor of host Bahamas Faith Ministries, also shared their personal recollection of ‘Scooter’ Reid.

Eugene Poitier, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, confirmed that Michael Reid was hired in the Sports Department in July, 1989 and only recently retired in December, 2020

ORIA KNOWLES, senior sports officer, pays her last respects to colleague Michael Reid.

MINISTER of National Security Marvin Dames pays his last respects. after he took ill, having served for 31 years. “I think the nation is grateful for his passionate, driven and commendable service,” Poitier summed up. “He was a brilliant young man. I would in fact would describe him as a decent human being, who not only was blessed with athletic abilities, but displayed great academic competence.

“He was very good at researching and writing, which I came to realise and

exhibited excellent organisational and leadership skills, a classic example of never judging a book by its cover. He also demonstrated that common touch especially when bringing young people from all walks of life to play basketball.”

Poitier said ‘Scooter’ Reid’s role as a sports and a private citizen and his contribution to the sport and even more so, the people of basketball, is legendary as he worked within the

community and all throughout the archipelago of the Bahamas as he lobbied for community basketball and establishing basketball leagues to help mitigate about the gang culture.

Speaking on behalf of Minister of Sports Lanisha Rolle and the officers and staff at the ministry, Poitier said they will sorely miss their colleague and friend, “a man who gave of the best of his service, a man who gave us his heart.”