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Govt defends $1m spend on Dubai expo delegation as FNM demands answers

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net THE Davis administration approved up to $1m to support The Bahamas Pavilion and a Bahamian “presence” in Dubai, according to Director of Communications in the Office of the Prime Minister Latrae Rahming.

In a press statement released Friday, Mr Rahming said this was less than the $1.7m approved by the Cabinet of the previous administration.

There was also funding

from the private sector in the amount of $500,000 and the United Arab Emirates spent $3.5m, Mr Rahming said.

Additionally, he confirmed that not only was Shaback, a choir led by Press Secretary Clint Watson a part of the host of Bahamian performers, but the Royal Bahamas Police Force Band, a Junkanoo group and the Bahamas All-Stars also made the trip.

The statement came amid backlash over the trip.

SEE PAGE FIVE

MINNIS - THERE ARE GREATER PRIORITIES JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said the Davis administration’s priority should be on people who have not been paid for contracted government work and not on sending a large delegation to Dubai.

Dr Minnis said there were some people in innercity communities who complained about continuing to wait for money owed to them.

Asked if this meant the government was irresponsible at this time, he said “that is an understatement”.

He said during his administration, there was a moratorium on travelling.

“There are a lot of priorities,” Dr Minnis told The Tribune on Friday.

“The government made many individuals who had contracts under roads and parks, I have not said anything about but I’ll speak about it at some particular later date – there are some individuals who have not been (paid) for three months. Those individuals are hurting – they need to be paid.

“Why should they have not been paid for three months while the government is flying all over to Dubai eating steak and lobsters while Bahamians here are hungry and can’t be paid? Where are your priorities?”

SEE PAGE FIVE

Nassau

‘CONCERNS’ OVER FOOD PROGRAMME CONTROLS THE Davis administration is “concerned” about preliminary details which have emerged from the process of auditing the former government’s COVID-19 spending, with one official saying the lack of the availability of critical information is “disturbing”.

In a statement released about the issue yesterday, Director of Communications in the Office of the Prime Minister Latrae Rahming said payments

totalling more than $9m were paid out to an entity that did not appear to be classified as an NGO. “Early accounts indicate no evidence that an internal control environment related to the food programme and the task force was designed and implemented by the office of the Financial Secretary of the Ministry and the Department of SS (Social SEE PAGE FOUR

‘LUCAYAN NEEDS ITS OWN SOL KERZNER TO SUCCEED’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Grand Lucayan must be acquired by a Sir Sol Kerzner equivalent to ensure long-term success, a hotelier said yesterday, arguing: “Business model is more important than cheque book size.”

Magnus Alnebeck, the Pelican Bay’s general manager, said the government must target a particular

type of buyer if it wishes to revive Grand Bahama tourism - seeking out someone with the “vision and force” of the Atlantis developer or a Sandals, or a vertically integrated airlift, tour and hotel operator such as the Memories/Sunwing combination.

He said a “conventional hotel” deal was unlikely to succeed based on the property’s history.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

‘HE SAID HE WAS COMING INSIDE - THEN GUNSHOTS’ INSIGHT

Steakhouse

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HEALTH and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville officially welcoming 50 Cuban nurses into the public healthcare system, including specialised nurses. Dr Darville said the nurses will help to ensure Bahamian healthcare services remain open and functioning. See PAGE TWO for the full story.

TM

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A MAN is dead after he was shot outside his home on Friday night.

Although police have not released an official identification, relatives told The Tribune the victim is Rico Mildor, 31.

Sometime after 11pm, officers were called to the scene of a shooting incident that occurred on Pratts Close off Rupert Dean Lane.

RICO MILDOR “On the officers’ arrival at the scene, they found an unresponsive adult male

on the ground outside his residence,” a police crime report noted. “He had several wounds about his body that were consistent with gunshots. Emergency Medical Services visited the scene and pronounced the body lifeless. Initial investigations revealed that the victim was outside his residence when he was approached by an unknown person who shot him several times about the body.”

SEE PAGE SEVEN

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NEVER MIND THE $1M COST, WHAT ABOUT THE BENEFIT?

SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Monday, January 17, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

MEMBERS of the Nurses Council greet the Cuban arrivals.

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50 Cuban nurses join healthcare system

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville officially welcomed 50 Cuban nurses into the public healthcare system.

He said there are some specialised nurses in the group.

“In this particular group, I believe there’s 21 emergency room nurses,” he said. “There’s some for maternal and child health and there’s some for the Department of Public Health.”

He added: “In Cuba, all of these nurses are trained to be in a pandemic. It’s part of their training.”

Some 300 nurses were interviewed, but 50 were accepted for service in The Bahamas.

When addressing the Cuban nurses at a welcome ceremony at SuperClubs Breezes on Friday, Dr Darville thanked them and said he hoped they would provide excellent work. He told the nurses that due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 cases believed to be a result of the Omicron variant, a number of local healthcare workers had been isolated or were in quarantine.

He said the Cuban nurses will help ensure Bahamian healthcare services remain open and functioning.

“You will be integrated into our healthcare system.

We will treat you like family,” he told the nurses.

“Because we will treat you like family, you will take care of the Bahamian people as if they’re your own. So it’s a mutual agreement and we look forward to, and I look forward to you, as Minister of Health, to see you in the healthcare system performing excellently and doing an excellent job to help us through these difficult times and the pandemic.”

Julio Cesar Gonzalez Marchante of the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba said the country can depend on Cuba for help.

“I want to emphasise that (The) Bahamas can count (on) us and (for) personnel of health at any moment. .

MINISTER of Health and Wellness Dr Michael Darville at the event to register the new nurses. .we started with this group of nurses and other personnel, but at any other moment we can continue (to) make more (available).

“I’m stressing this cooperation because really we have the personal and professional that are needed here.”

Glenda Gonzalez Cursta, head nurse of the group, said they are excited to be in the country.

“We are very happy and excited to be here because it’s a country that is a friend to Cuba,” she said. “Also we want to help and we want to offer our service to your people here. We want to exchange knowledge, abilities, and skills and just to help all

the people here in the pandemic moment.

“So for that reason we are very proud to be here.”

Felipe Archibald, who works in the intensive care unit, said he has worked in different countries, but is happy to be in The Bahamas.

“I am very happy to be here in (The) Bahamas because I feel our team will do (an) excellent job here…

I feel this is a very special moment to help any kind of people because we are living so stressed because (of) this pandemic that’s why we are here to work like a family giving proper care to anybody that needs our effort.”

MINISTER of Health and Wellness Dr Michael Darville with Cuban ambassador Julio Cesar Gonzalez Marchante.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, January 17, 2022, PAGE 3

Minister suggests using Family Islands for cannabis industry

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net MARINE Resources and Family Island Affairs Minister Clay Sweeting thinks the Family Islands would be ideal to support a cannabis industry.

In a statement yesterday, the minister said many Bahamians were already looking for agricultural land to support the growth of cannabis.

His strong support for the

industry followed confirmation last week by Director of Communications in the Office of the Prime Minister Latrae Rahming that the Davis administration intended to table draft legislation for the legalisation of cannabis in the first quarter of this year.

“A lot of the land that we need is in the Family Islands,” the minister said yesterday. “We don’t have enough agricultural land in New Providence to farm to what the industry can

be. I think islands such as Eleuthera, Andros, Abaco and Grand Bahama have a lot of property that can be used to maximise the industry and in turn, create opportunities for other Family Islands.

“This industry can actually touch the lives of Bahamians nationwide.

From a year or two ago, when the talk of marijuana came about, individuals started to scope our property themselves. It is not something the ministry

was doing in regards to looking at where the property would be allocated.

Our main concern now is that the legislation is done properly to ensure that all Bahamians have the opportunity to get involved and not just a select few.”

Mr Sweeting said legalisation of the industry would be a full effort with a number of ministries.

“The cannabis industry is not just agriculture. It works with the Ministry of Health as well as the Attorney

General’s Office. So, we do have a skeleton legislation that we are revising. We haven’t put a timeline on it, but we are looking to work on it as quickly as possible,” he said.

“My ministry is working to make sure that it gets done as efficiently as possible. Hopefully, we will see the success story of what the industry can be before five years are complete.”

The government said it would introduce a “regulatory framework” for the

cannabis industry and to expunge the records of young people convicted of minor offences related to use of the drug as part of its five-year legislative agenda.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, while in opposition, expressed full support for both issues and said back in 2020 the Minnis administration should have already addressed the issue of legalising marijuana and expunging the records of people convicted for possessing small amounts.

PINTARD: WE MUST END VICIOUS CYCLE OF TERMINATIONS

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

OPPOSITION leader Michael Pintard said the “vicious cycle” of terminating Bahamians whenever a new political administration is elected to office must stop.

He stressed that the ongoing reported layoffs at Urban Renewal centres and government ministries in Grand Bahama is troubling because ordinary working Bahamians are being put out of jobs.

Mr Pintard travelled to Freeport on Friday after concerns surfaced that more terminations were expected on the island at the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development.

Obie Wilchcombe, Minister of Social Services and Urban Development, Minister of State Lisa Rahming, and other executive officials met with staff at a general meeting held at the St Georges gymnasium on Friday morning.

Mr Pintard, leader of the Free National Movement, along with Kwasi Thompson, FNM MP for East Grand Bahama, and Iram Lewis, FNM MP for Central Grand Bahama, went to the school to support the workers. They also spoke with Minister Wilchcombe about concerns of further layoffs by the government.

“We believe that this vicious cycle of removing persons who are not overtly political appointees, but who are Bahamian citizens working just above and not far beyond minimum wage, these people’s lives should not be disrupted because of a change of government, particularly since these are

persons who have been functioning as consummate professionals; they are not using government premises or resources for partisan political purposes,” he told The Tribune.

Urban Renewal is one example where there is a tremendous amount of anxiety. And I had a conversation with the minister I thought was very fruitful and he has been very accommodating.

Despite his efforts, the terminations continued.”

According to Mr Pintard, on December 28, 2021 the staff at the Pineridge Urban Renewal Centre were given termination letters.

“We are aware of other workers from Urban Renewal,” he said.

Before his arrival in Grand Bahama, Mr Pintard had issued a call for people to assemble at the school gymnasium in support of the workers.

In a voice note that circulated on social media, he said: “It is very possible that the intention is to continue with the wholesale laying off of Bahamians in extremely difficult times.

And I encourage those of you that are available to assemble at St Georges gym to lend support…in an orderly and peaceful fashion. Pineridge more than likely was a test case to see how we would react to the government doing what it promised it would not do, which is the wholesale laying off of Bahamians.”

Mr Pintard said the targeted workers are those who cater to the needs of vulnerable Bahamians, as well as children, seniors, and other persons who have been adversely affected by Hurricane Dorian and the

pandemic.

While the FNM is prepared to collaborate with the government to ensure the well-being of Bahamians, he said they “cannot idly stand by while Bahamians are made to suffer more because they are targeted and terminated for partisan political reasons.”

“The PLP government has indicated that Grand Bahama is one of their top priorities. It cannot be the priority of the government if the government is participating in a process of releasing Bahamians who have done nothing wrong,” said Mr Pintard. “And to cite that some members of any past administration have engaged in similar behaviour is the worst kind of defence.

“Even in cases where that may have been true or is true, the reality is this government, as with every government, ought to seek to do better.

“I have said publicly on more than one occasion that we have a new Prime Minister and a new leader of the opposition. We ought to create a different culture in the Bahamas in terms of how we deal with Bahamians,” he stated.

Mr Pintard indicated that there have been times when the incoming FNM administration kept hundreds of people who were hired under a PLP government.

“Thousands of them are still in place,” he added.

“The bottom line is that we have to create a different culture.”

The MP for Marco City said he has never interfered with any staff while serving in two ministries while he was in Cabinet.

“I sought to practice what

FNM CONVENTION TO BE VIRTUAL

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

THE Free National Movement’s three-day convention next month will be a fully virtual event in response to the surge in COVID-19 infections in the country.

Party chairman Carl Culmer confirmed the decision yesterday, telling The Tribune the FNM wanted to ensure it was compliant with health protocols.

The convention is slated to be held from February 23-25.

“We are going to have a virtual convention,” Mr Culmer said. “The dates are still the same and that’s the last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (in February).”

He said it was not a matter of cutting costs for the event, but solely in response to the

country’s current COVID19 situation.

When the FNM elected its new party leader— Marco City MP Michael Pintard — in November, the event was face-to-face and came at a cost of around $100,000.

However, at the time there was not a surge in cases as there has been in recent weeks.

“We checked with the health department because as you know we in the FNM try to stay within the protocols and we checked with the Ministry of Health,” Mr Culmer said when asked if the decision was in a bid to save the party money.

“First, we started thinking about a face-to-face event and then once the numbers started to get up there, we decided we would try a hybrid method and so we asked for hybrid.

We went to the Ministry of Health and they didn’t see us having a hybrid between now and then and they asked us to apply at the end of this month.

“But if you are having a convention in February you cannot wait until the end of the month to apply again so we will do everything virtually and we will go from there.”

FNM deputy leader Peter Turnquest has previously said that all positions from deputy leader down will be contested.

“The convention that will be held in February, will be for all other officers from deputy leader straight on down,“ he had said in November.

He said the party’s constitution called for a convention every two years at which time the party would go through choosing a leader and officers again.

OPPOSITION Leader Michael Pintard.

I am advocating now - that is to be unbiased in how we deal with Bahamian professionals who are working in different ministries,” Mr Pintard said.

He was pleased that the government engaged a number of very prominent and talented Bahamian women who are providing consultancy or have been appointed to boards.

“Unfortunately, that message is now ringing hollow because of what they did with a handful of five or less; and they are now to the tune of dozens and dozens of Bahamians barely above minimum wage and releasing them,” he stated.

The government, he said, is putting ordinary single mothers with children on the unemployment line.

According to Mr Pintard, FNM MPs never interfered with staff at the Urban Renewal centres.

“The MPs were not intimately involved with the centres, and we did not interfere with their

programmes. I certainly haven’t, but when I am invited, I go. And when they ask for a contribution, I assist. But we did not interfere with their operation, and we did not use it as a political tool. So, this is disconcerting.

“We wish to collaborate with the Ministry of Social

Services. And we asked (the minister) to work for all Bahamians and not permit the voice of a few persons crying for opportunities to cause him to disenfranchise others who have an opportunity. There are ways of integrating both groups so that all can live and eat,” said Mr Pintard.

PAGE 4, Monday, January 17, 2022

216 CASES OF COVID REPORTED BY RBDF

By PAVEL BAILEY

DURING the first week of this month, COVID-19 infections within the Royal Bahamas Defence Force peaked at 216 cases, according to its Commodore Raymond King.

However, currently there are 119 active cases within the RBDF. He said due to a recent rise in cases in the country believed to be by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus there is a drastic rise in cases among marines.

In remarks this week at the Office of the Prime Minister’s press briefing, Commodore King gave the public insight into how the RBDF has been coping with the pandemic.

He said: “For the period mid-October to Christmas eve during the Delta wave we had experienced on average about four active cases, eighteen personnel being quarantined, a positivity rate of about 8.3 percent and a recovery rate of about 99.5 percent.”

Commodore King said

that it was not until the recent wave of the Omicron variant that cases on the force went up exponentially.

“With the onset of the Omicron variant our numbers escalated to the extent that the average case is 131, personal quarantine 77, our positivity rate increased up to 11 percent and our recovery rate declined to 81 percent. Notably we experienced a significant increase during the final week of December 2021 when the number of active cases increased from 13 to 169. During the first week of January 2022, we peaked at 216 cases.”

Commodore King noted that there had recently been a decline in COVID cases – off 55 percent – with the current number of active cases this week now standing at 119. In analysing the contact tracing data Defense Force officials determined that 30 percent of the transmissions came from family and social gatherings during the holidays, another 45 percent were workplace transmissions and the remaining 25

percent came from travel abroad.

Commodore King attributed the high rate of workplace transmissions to the close proximity that officers live in and work together onboard their ships and training facilities.

He also addressed concerns that recent outbreaks of COVID may have impeded the RBDF’s ability to patrol Bahamian borders, saying that while there are some difficulties in keeping uninfected members of the RBDF spread out on active duty the situation is in hand.

As the RBDF has already anticipated the time of year migrant vessels will try to cross the borders they have tactically allocated the resources necessary to combat this.

When questioned about rumours of a party at the Defence Force base over the holidays that could possibly have been responsible for the recent increase in COVID cases, Commodore King confirmed that there was a Christmas party, but clarified that the

event in question followed stringent health safety protocols.

“The events that were held, the health protocols were enforced where persons had to demonstrate their vaccination status, an antigen test result and social distancing. And so, while I can’t rule out whether even exercising these protocols whether transmission would have occurred, but we did allow the messes to have those functions with the enforcement of those health protocols.”

Additionally, while the Commodore mentioned that he was open to the idea of offering incentives to officers to get vaccinated, it was not something he would offer.

“Some 37% of 560 of our members are fully vaccinated. I encourage members to continue to do so to protect their family, friends, loved ones and colleagues. I too intend to receive my booster shot next week as well as my flu shot, and I encourage members to do likewise,” he said.

THE TRIBUNE

‘NO APPROVAL? SHUT IT DOWN’

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

AFTER the promoters of a recent party, which attracted hundreds of persons, were not cited, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville said if an event has not been approved by the Ministry of Health it should be shut down.

One of the promoters who hosted a party on January 8 admitted last week to The Tribune that no approval by the Ministry of Health had been given, however he said police were present at the event.

The promoter could not say off hand how many people attended the Blue Notes Birthday Celebration at Luna Night Club, however he estimated there were about 200-300 attendees. He said such precautions as checking for COVID-19 tests and vaccination cards were taken.

On Friday, Dr Darville said the reality is “the law is clear” when asked if events can go on without the ministry’s approval.

“The Ministry of Health for mass gathering has the final approval. If an event has not been approved by the Ministry of Health and the promoter cannot produce evidence of that I think the event should be shut down.

That’s final at this particular time in the pandemic.”

He said the Ministry of Health is responsible for policy and not for enforcement which is the responsibility of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

“We are concerned about any event that takes place that we are unaware of,” said Dr Darville. “More enforcement is always better and I am pushing for more enforcement to get the necessary manpower in order for us to accomplish that.”

Footage of the event, which was shared on social media, showed a crowd of persons gathered near a stage; very little social distancing and masks were observed.

In late December, the Ministry of Health and Wellness announced that due to the increase in COVID-19 cases, effective immediately, it would not approve any large gatherings and will suspend all current approvals.

‘CONCERNS’ OVER FOOD PROGRAMME CONTROLS from page one

Services),” Mr Rahming’s statement noted.

“Furthermore, there was no evidence that the office of the Financial Secretary of the Ministry, the Department of (Social Services), and the task force collaborated to design policies, procedures and best practices aimed towards the execution of the task force’s duties, inclusive of reporting and monitoring.

“There was no evidence of authorised contracts in place with the NGOs under the food programme. There was no evidence that controls existed for financial reporting and monitoring.

There was no evidence that the Department of (Social Services) obtained an understanding of the task force’s policies and procedures related to the food programme.”

He said this specifically related to selections for NGOs, beneficiaries, procurement and payment by the NGOs and expenses incurred and settled by the NGOs.

He also said the Department of Social Services “did not appear to have received and/or maintained sufficient and appropriate documentation and support” related to the task force’s operations and execution of the national food distribution programme specifically for verification of resource allocation; beneficiary data; expenditures incurred and settled, and minutes for meetings held.

“There was no evidence of controls in place to address personal data protection and data integrity.

The Department of (Social Services) noted duplications of beneficiaries at the end of the food programme.

“Payments totalling $9,139,029 was made out to a beneficiary that did not appear to be classified as an NGO. There was no evidence of controls to address arm’s length transactions and transparency,” Mr Rahming said.

“So we are concerned, and this demonstrates a greater need for us to get a comprehensive understanding of what transpired

and to provide a thorough account of the decisions made by the previous administration in the view of reporting back to the Bahamian people.”

Mr Rahming said the emergency powers which were instituted under the Minnis administration granted former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis “unchecked authority in procurement and suspension of civil liberties”.

He added: “We owe it to our democracy and the people of this country to determine if this power was abused.”

Attempts to reach Dr Minnis for comment yesterday were unsuccessful.

However when he was contacted, Free National Movement leader Michael Pintard told The Tribune the Davis administration has all the access to the relevant information about the previous administration’s food programme and should be able to use all of its resources to get any answers it needs.

“I’ve been advised that when this report was being put together, that adequate

advice had been provided that could have guided the Office of the Prime Minister in getting a fulsome account of the sequence of events, the nature of the programme, and its execution,” Mr Pintard said last night.

“It would be useful to know whether or not they are considering this a full audit, if so which firm conducted it, and in the event that it is being classified as an audit, or even as a report, one of the guiding principles is that they would speak with each of those persons identified to get a sense of what the facts are.”

He said the government has in its possession the Cabinet conclusion about the task force which would have outlined the full structure of the food programme.

“So this question of structure and the mandate of the task force is clearly evident and the government has full sight of all of that, so any suggestion to the contrary would be intentionally misleading,” the Marco City MP said.

He said the government also has access to former task force chair Susan Larson, who has clear documentation as to how the programme was executed in relation to NGOs, as well as the respective permanent secretary who could answer questions about government spending.

He added that the NGOs who were a part of the food task force are reputable agencies who are well known. “(There’s) no need for them to pretend to either not have access to or to be completely unclear on where they can get information because all of it is readily available to them,” Mr Pintard said.

“They could use all of these emotive terms to paint some picture that they wish to paint. . .you don’t have to insinuate anything especially on the basis of information you can access to give full clarity to the situation.

“It’s unfortunate that these kinds of partial reports with commentary that could easily be answered if they do the proper investigation, it’s unfortunate that they are approaching it in this way.

Just do the full report and if there are matters that have weight, then put it in the public domain and let’s address it.”

Mr Pintard added that the government should put

increased focus on Bahamians who need access to food.

“What I’d like to see is for those Bahamians who are food insecure, for the government to clearly outline what is its plan of action and timeline to meet those needs which from my standpoint as a member of Parliament, we are hearing the cries with great frequency and quite loudly, up to tonight, persons reaching out for assistance.

“There is a real, serious need... the government ought to have multiple sites for distribution to reduce the long lines of persons who have to wait for food, that adds to their frustration of waiting for an inordinate amount of time for a coupon to feed their families.”

He said unconfirmed reports suggest some people that have requested assistance have not gotten help. He said the government should explain the level of requests it has received and how much of that total number their food programme is meeting.

The national food distribution programme was started in the spring of 2020, with a weekly spend in 2021 of slightly more than $768,000.

The initiative has since been disbanded, with the Department of Social Services overseeing emergency food distribution.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, January 17, 2022, PAGE 5

Value for money?

Former prime from page one

minis-

ter Dr Hubert Minnis has said Bahamian contractors should have been paid instead of spending public funds on travel.

He said there was a moratorium on travel under his leadership.

However, the statement noted that the previous government had agreed to support Bahamian participation at the Expo 2020 in Dubai, including by a public-private partnership with Expo Organizers Janet Johnson, Ambassador Tony Joudi, and Michael Diggiss.

In an April 2019 letter expressing the support of the government for Bahamian participation, the Director of Investments of the Bahamas Investment Authority recognised the opportunity to merge trade and investment promotions and to increase foreign direct investment, the statement went on to note.

Therefore, as part of the FNM government’s support for Bahamian participation in the Expo, former FNM Ministers Ellsworth Johnson, Lanisha Rolle, and Darren Henfield made several visits to Dubai, with large delegations in support.

PART of the pavilion for the Dubai Expo.

Prime Minister Philip the beauty of Bahamian “Brave” Davis left the culture and navigates suscountry on Friday to attend tainable futures for the the world expo and bilat- island nation, the second floor’s Embassy for Business eral meetings in Dubai.

“For the first time, The is primarily concerned with Bahamas will be partici- cultivating opportunities for investment pating in the world expo, international showcasing its rich cul- and partnerships. Hundreds tural history, exploring a of commercial representasustainability-driven future, tives have already expressed and highlighting its natural interest in doing business in wonders,” the statement The Bahamas, a welcome said. “The nation’s pavil- result as the Prime Minister ion, designed by Bahamian engages in high-level talks architects and cultural prac- with diplomatic officials and titioners, is situated in the investors in the coming days.

“In only the first month of sustainability district, leaving the country well-positioned Expo, The Bahamas saw over to attract viable develop- a quarter of a million visitors ments in its blue, green, and to its pavilion, with over 10 million more anticipated to orange economies.

“While the first floor follow over the course of the of the pavilion displays Expo’s six-month run.”

Regarding the cost, Mr Rahming said: “The government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) generously supported the presence of The Bahamas pavilion with $3.5m.

“The private sector also offered support, with donations from private donors totaling half a million dollars. When the Expo opened in October 2021, the Expo organizers approached the new government requesting funds to support both the opening of The Bahamas Pavilion and Bahamas National Day which is set to take place on Monday, January 17, 2022.

“Because of the millions invested to date, in order to ensure that The Bahamas’

reputation was protected and promoted, and in order to maintain good relations with the government of the UAE, Cabinet agreed to support the country’s presence at Expo up to a maximum of $1m. This figure is budgeted to cover expenditure for the duration of Expo, from October 2021 to March 2022.

“This represents a substantial reduction from the $1.7m approved by the prior FNM government’s Cabinet.

“Because our New Day Administration recognises the significance of a number of potential investor relationships, and the potential mutual cooperation between our two countries in relation to climate change and sustainability, Prime Minister Davis accepted an invitation from the Royal Family and the Prime Minister of the UAE to attend Bahamas National Day at Expo in Dubai.

“PM Davis is especially grateful that the government of the UAE for offering to cover the costs of his delegation.”

While visiting Dubai, Mr Davis has arranged a number of crucial meetings to secure some key investments and opportunities for The Bahamas.

and choirs and bands and musicians also the cultural artisans of our country and we want to show that we have talent in our country.

“I think that it is a justified investment when we give our people exposure on the world stage so people could see the talent and I think if this small country could produce per capita the largest amount of athletes and we could produce Sir Sidney Poitier, we could make a significant investment in letting the world see our talent.”

Despite this, Dr Minnis highlighted that his government had a moratorium on any Cabinet ministers travelling during the pandemic.

“Nobody (was) travelling, including myself,” he said.

“You would note that as soon as we lost the government, the new government went to the UN. We had already made a

would have constructed the pavilion and, therefore, if The Bahamas needed representation there’s no reason why they could not have done everything virtually. They tried virtual Junkanoo which failed, but there’s no reason why they could not have done virtual cultural events.”

Back in 2020, Dr Minnis defended his continued travel to the Family Islands in the face of criticism that it was not safe to do so during the COVID-19 pandemic and calls from the official opposition for there to be equal opportunity for inter-island travel.

“From I came into office I’ve been travelling through the Family Islands. That has never stopped so it’s just a continuation,” he had previously said. “When I came in, I promised the Family Islanders

that I would visit them regularly and keep them abreast of what’s happening in The Bahamas, especially after budgets (and) after COVID they must be informed.”

Meanwhile, Dr Minnis said there was no friction in the party despite his noticeable absence at some of the Free National Movement’s press conferences. He went on to respond to those who criticised him for leaving Parliament early on Wednesday.

Dr Minnis said this was because he went to assist people in need in the inner city. “I see they accuse me of leaving Parliament. Parliament was very short on Wednesday...

Individuals within the Mason’s Addition and the Over-the-Hill had contacted me previously and said that they had not been paid by the government and they were having serious

These include meetings with: • Khalid Al Mulla, owner of Sheraton Creek, Ritz Carlton, Crowne Plaza, Ramada and Holiday Inn Express hotels; owner of The American Hospital; owner of Almulla Plaza Shopping & Residential Complex • Jetex (owner of one of the biggest private aviation companies in the Middle East).

• Sheik Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Group • The UAE Minister of The Interior Negotiations on two ‘Memoranda of Agreements’ will also be conducted and Prime Minister Davis will report on the meetings after he leaves Dubai on Tuesday, January 18.

In addition to the bilateral and trade meetings, Mr Davis will be supporting the cultural delegation, who will be showcasing Bahamian talent on Bahamas National Day, which is expected to enhance the country’s profile while at the same time providing an opportunity for international exposure for local artists.

problems and challenges feeding their family, etc. I would have spoken to them previously and said immediately after Parliament I will drive down to the area.

I have some food vouchers, whatever else I will ensure that you get that,” he said.

“Immediately after Parliament, the GPS on my car or whatever, you would have noted I went into the inner-city. I went to Englerston. I went to Bain Town and I went to Centreville where I went to ensure that those who were complaining that they had not been paid, I went to ensure that they had something.

“That should be the priority. If there are individuals who have done jobs for the Bahamian people that have not been paid that should be priority, not travelling to Dubai.”

MINNIS - THERE ARE GREATER PRIORITIES from page one

More than 100 people, including Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, made up a delegation that went to the United Arab Emirates on Friday to attend a world expo that showcases the country’s cultural and technological offerings.

The size of the delegation was reduced due to the surge in cases believed to be the result of the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, OPM Communications Director Latrae Rahming said.

“We believe — and it continues to be our view — that we are going to give Bahamians the exposure required on the global stage,” Mr Rahming said on Thursday. “This group comprises of Bahamian talent

discussion that we were not travelling to the UN, therefore, there were no bookings with respect to my government going to the UN we would involve ourselves virtually. The same thing applied to Dubai.

“We said that if tourism insisted that they wanted to go, that tourism must find the money in their own established budget, but we were not, my government the FNM government nor the Ministry of Finance, gonna give them any additional funds. Find it in your established budget because at this particular time there are other priorities and we were not going to spend the public purse.

“Their argument was that they would meet investors, etc, and we said fine, get the private sector involved to provide you with the funds, but we were not travelling.”

He also said: “Yes, Dubai

600 NEW COVID CASES REPORTED OVER WEEKEND

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

MORE than 600 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the country over the weekend prompting Free National Movement chairman Carl Culmer to say more must be done to control the spread of the virus.

According to Saturday’s data, the Ministry of Health recorded 195 new infections across six islands while two additional cases were listed with locations pending.

In New Providence, there were 163 cases, Grand Bahama recorded 24 and there was one case each in Abaco and Eleuthera.

There were also three new cases in Exuma and one case in Cat Island.

Officials said 132 people were in hospital due to COVID-19; 126 were listed as moderately ill and six people were receiving treatment in the intensive care unit.

The previous day, Friday January 14, saw 401 cases of the coronavirus recorded.

Three-hundred and fortyfour of those cases were in New Providence and 21 were in Grand Bahama.

Both Abaco and Bimini & Cat Cay had three new cases each, while there were eight cases in Eleuthera.

Officials further noted two new infections in the Berry Islands, 14 in Exuma, three in Andros, one in Cat Island and two cases with locations pending.

Last Thursday, 346 new cases were recorded.

Yesterday, Mr Culmer criticised the Davis administration, saying the country awaited its plan to curb the rate of infections.

“These parties and

all these night life super spreaders that’s the kind of things that the government needs to pay attention to,” Mr Culmer said yesterday.

“When the PLP were in opposition they had a lot of answers for COVID and they felt as though the government of the day was not doing what they were supposed to do and now they are in power and it would be interesting to see how high the cases have been from September 16 to now.

“These are numbers we have never had before and it seems as though there is no plan in place to help with curtailing these numbers so definitely, we would like to see all the plans and suggestions like what they had while in opposition.

“Let’s see them bring those plans forward because it’s about a balance between

health and economics and we hope that they would do more to consider the health of the Bahamian people, which we are not seeing today.”

Since coming to office, the Progressive Liberal Party has rolled out a free COVID-19 testing pilot.

According to Director of Communications in the Office of the Prime Minister Latrae Rahming, 4,595 tests were done in the capital with 405 of them yielding positive results.

Additionally, the government has employed the service of 50 Cuban specialty nurses and sought to beef up the infrastructure at public healthcare facilities in response to the surge in cases.

Asked whether these efforts were proof that the PLP enacted a plan, Mr Culmer said: “My thing is that’s fine and good but

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what else are they doing to help with vaccines and instead of putting nurses in place, and I am not talking about long-term I am talking about things to help the

spread.

“We need to curtail the spread of this virus and need to put more measures in place to prevent and curtail the spread and we

are not seeing sufficient of that,” Mr Culmer said.

Officials have said that more than 157,000 people have been fully vaccinated against the virus.

PAGE 6, Monday, January 17, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

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Is Dubai spending the best use of our money?

THE trip by a Bahamian delegation to Dubai was always going to raise questions about the cost.

The inevitability of those questions stretches back as far as the last PLP administration when questions were raised over the cost of trips, and Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell was given the nickname Flyaway Fred.

Some of the criticism is unfair. This is a new government, after all, and should be judged on its own actions, not those of its predecessors.

What is fair is for the questions about cost to be raised, however – and the government has provided that, with up to $1m earmarked for the trip.

What we don’t know is how much the government expects to make in return for the country. The destination is a place rich in investors, and ripe as a showcase for tourism.

How well our Christian choir or our Junkanoo dancers will fare in Dubai, in a country where Islam is the main religion and where people are expected to cover more of their skin with clothing, is one consideration.

Former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis raised another good question – that of priorities. Could that $1m be spent in a better way?

Dr Minnis talked of Bahamians who haven’t been paid for contracts and asked why should the government be flying to Dubai and eating steak and lobster when Bahamians at home can’t get paid.

In today’s Insight section, the lead article highlights the Inter-American Bank report that highlighted the need to spend $30.7m on digital infrastructure such as broadband and mobile broadband – which it is forecast would bring a return on investment of $715m.

There are a lot of calls for the government to spend money in different areas – and only so much money to go around.

The Dubai trip may well be worth the investment, we shall have to see. But if it doesn’t show tangible results, the government will have to explain why this was what they chose to invest in rather than something closer to home.

We absolutely hope it benefits the nation, for the sake of us all.

Cuban nurses

The Bahamas has welcomed 50 Cuban nurses into our healthcare system – and they are very much needed.

Fighting the pandemic has taken its toll on us all, but most especially on the frontline of medical staff. The addition of 50 nurses will help keep our healthcare system going at a time when many members of staff have caught the virus themselves. Even former Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands’ family has been battling COVID. It is also a pleasure to see how excited the new arrivals are at playing their part.

Head nurse Glenda Gonzalez Cursta said: “We are very happy and excited to be here because it’s a country that is a friend to Cuba.”

What a delight it is to see diplomacy and international friendship built up through countries reaching out to care for one another.

These new recruits will join others in our medical field, both those born here and those who have come from other countries. As they care for us all, if you happen to encounter them as they work, thank them for all they are doing. As a nation, we should be grateful.

Open schools EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE mission statement of The Ministry of Education & Technical & Vocational Training, Bahamas is “To provide ALL persons in the Bahamas an opportunity to receive a quality education in an interdependent changing world.” I cannot think of a more true example than the world we live in today.

However, despite the cries and concerns of so many parents, teachers and students, children are still not back in the classrooms.

The hold up seems to be the The Ministry of Health and Wellness Bahamas. They will not give approval to the MOE to let the children back to school. Yet the Bahamas can receive thousands of tourists a day, fill the hotels, shop at the malls,

go to the gym, dance at nightclubs and eat at restaurants. But, according to them, it’s too dangerous for schools with proper procedures and policies in place to have learners on site.

So we sit at home in isolation.

Deteriorating.

Watching our children morph into zombies staring at screens for 6 hours a day.

The effort of encouraging our children to go outside and play, now seems awfully ironic as they are forced to “tune in”. Government schools have not had a live lesson in almost 2 years many of those kids willl fall into the gap concluding their journey of learning.

Why is nobody doing anything to open the schools?

Please see the footnote of the 2nd photo from the Ministry of Education’s website. They have responsibility for more than 50,000 K-12 students in 170

institutions in the Bahamas (as of 2019).

Let me repeat. 50,000 students.

No one is in a classroom.

I would also like to add that one of their goals is to raise the graduation rate from 50%. How do they plan to accomplish this if they can’t even host a school day, Office of the Prime Minister - The Bahamas Can you not see clearly? This is a crisis. This is our future. We are topping the list of the last 6 countries in the world to still have not returned to face to face learning.

No more politics, no more agendas. Enough. If we can’t do it on our own - please be big enough to reach out to the rest of the world and ask for help. This country depends on it.

LAUREEN SINGH New Providence January 15, 2022

Around town EDITOR, The Tribune.

SORT of around town... the big McDonald protest at their Oakes Field branch seems to be all over as the line up of cars to their drive through lane certainly confirmed that.

Amazed... A leading wholesaler in 2021 does not accept Credit or debt cards... incredible but true... customers be warned carry cash... located on Tonique Williams.

Health see far too many people in hotels and in

groups not with masks...was on social media and saw a video of a junkanoo group... boy if that wasn’t a spreader I would like to know what would be.

Driving know it’s the season, but please… those cubes and similar respect all other road users… dashing through the traffic is not proper… slow down and live.

Isn’t it a $200 fine for not wearing a mask? Treasury broke far from bar humbug, but please save a life... surely by now we all know you are required to wear

masks, yes, Ministers and officials even when you are being interviewed for news.

US has 57 million unvaccinated... 96% of all cases hospitalized are not vaccinated people…why can’t the stubborn hold outs understand? Please go get the shot.

Small things, but it will make this time of the year a lot more livable and peaceful.

A MURPHY Nassau, December 21, 2022.

Police are human EDITOR, The Tribune.

I AM honored that you have given me this opportunity to say thank you to the Commissioner and the officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force for all that they do.

Almost every day, every newspaper’s headline is ablaze with stories of serious crimes.

Murder, armed robbery, and rape.

And while there has been a noticeable increase in crimes, especially murder, it does not take away from the hard work our dedicated officers do.

But to listen to some people, you would think the police are the enemy.

The Minister of Defence Wayne Munroe was right on point in his portrayal of how an unkind public view and treat our police officers.

While we understand and sympathise with those suffering the loss of loved ones due to unfortunate occurrences, let us consider the policeman’s predicament when faced with these dire situations.

What are they supposed to do when fearful for their lives?

“The job of a police officer is one that demands a one-hundred-and-ten percent effort, one-hundred percent of the time. But for some officers, the contributions made in the line of duty are immeasurable.”

In recent times police officers have come under a lot of pressure. Some are hated vehemently. (Can you imagine being hated for doing your job? Like issuing a traffic violation ticket), while others have received minimal thanks for their service and have to watch their backs more.

A few may even question putting on the uniform at the start of a shift.

However, during a conversation with a police friend, he told me.

“You never question putting on the uniform. This is your job. This is what you swore to do, and if you have lost your desire to be a part of the institution, you should resign because you would only put the lives of others at risk.

Before moving on, I would like to take a moment to point out that besides being underappreciated, they are also misunderstood.

Several years ago, around 11pm after leaving work, I was driving past Montagu Beach and saw a police car with flashing lights pulled to the side of the road

LETTERS

letters@tribunemedia.net behind a private vehicle.

There were several persons gathered around.

As I approached the scene, people were swearing at and bad-mouthing the policemen because three young men were lying face down on the ground.

The officers calmly went to the vehicle (stolen) and took out ski masks gloves, a cutlass, and a high-powered loaded gun showed them to the noise that went silent immediately.

In the wake of what they are faced with daily, police officers do not receive the gratitude and thanks they deserve. I grew up surrounded by policemen and have a lot of friends on the force. I have seen the job’s impact on them, and I know what they put their families through.

So to all the officers, I say thank you.

Thank you for putting the country that you serve above your family. It takes courage and professionalism to do what you are doing to protect your community.

Police give up holidays, birthdays, and family gatherings. They give up going to school events, sports, and games. When duty calls, they drop everything and respond. They give up on so much of their family life to serve and protect us.

Thank you to their families for allowing them to do their jobs.

Thank you for risking your life for mine. Every time they put that uniform on, they put my safety above theirs. They will do anything to make sure that no one gets hurt.

Every time they leave home for another shift, they are not guaranteed to return home. But they still answer every call and do what it takes to rescue a child in danger or end a potentially deadly situation.

A police officer can handle the pressure to make the best decision at that moment. Not many people can knowingly put their lives in danger as these men and women do.

It takes a brave person to deal with the things they do daily.

As in most sectors of society, there is a marginal minority that tends to bring the institution it represents into ill repute; Unfortunately, now and then, one or two of our men who have sworn to serve

and protect might fall into this category.

Commissioner taking into consideration the circumstances of your inheritance. It is my belief you are doing a good job.

There are so many police officers that go far beyond the call of duty, doing their jobs the best they can. They all deserve to hear a “thank you” because now more than ever their job and their work is under-appreciated.

So to every police officer out there, thank you for everything you do. Thank you for making that choice to protect and serve. Thank you for doing what many of us aren’t brave enough to do.

Thank you, officers BK and Fernander. Congratulations on your well-deserved promotions.

Thank you, officers Jones, Dean, Deacon Lotmore and Missick.

Thank you for keeping us safe. May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

I believe, while Minister Munroe’s statement was directed at the public in general, I could hear the concern for our youth in his voice, and I can imagine him saying the following: “Young man, how many more of you must die before It is your turn. How much longer will you be a prisoner of your fears who could only move around cloaked by the cover of darkness?

How much longer will you have to sleep with a gun under your head, and one eye opened. How many bullets will you escape before the marksman finds its target before you become another statistic?

How much longer before you are sentenced to spend the rest of your lives locked away behind bars in a dungeon removed from society?

There must be a better way. Make a quick 180 degrees turn before it is too late.

Contrary to what you have been made to believe, you are loved. We care, we do.

Minister, you have been placed in an unenviable position. The road ahead for you is not an easy one, but already you are proving you are more than capable of handling the tasks at hand.

You have our support.

God bless our Royal Bahamas Police Force God bless the Bahamas.

ANTHONY PRATT Nassau, January 16, 2022.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, January 17, 2022, PAGE 7

Plea agreements ‘HE SAID HE WAS COMING bring high rate INSIDE - THEN GUNSHOTS’ of convictions from page one

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE Director of Public Prosecutions Office secured a high conviction rate of 85 percent in 2021 while its use of plea agreements recovered after COVID-19 caused disruption in 2020, according to Director of Public Prosecutions Garvin Gaskin.

He said in a statement: “The office was able to enter into a commendable number of plea agreements with defendants.

This meant that resources, including court time and funds were saved, but at the same time the ends of justice were served.”

He added: “The remarkably high conviction rate (85 percent) has been maintained, in spite of the challenges faced due to the pandemic.”

The DPP’s office secured 24 convictions for armed robbery in 2021; nine armed robbery cases resulted in acquittals. There were five convictions for murder, but eight acquittals. There were nine convictions for unlawful sexual intercourse and two acquittals.

There were five convictions for rape as well as for burglary and kidnapping and no acquittals in any of those categories. In total, according to the department’s statistics, there were 96 convictions and 17 acquittals.

Guilty pleas included 17 armed robbery cases, two murders, eight robberies, seven cases of unlawful sexual intercourse, four attempted murders and four rapes, among others.

In total, the department secured 72 guilty pleas. The DPP’s office has placed greater focus on plea deals – agreements between a prosecutor and a defendant where the accused agrees to plead guilty to a particular charge in return for a concession – in recent years.

There were 41 plea deals in 2016; 96 in 2017; 72 in 2018; 62 in 2019 and 13 in 2020.

Mr Gaskin said his office also cleared “much of the 2020 backlog of (voluntary bill of indictments) that had arisen due to the disruptions caused by the pandemic”.

“It should be noted that some of (the) staff of the office were impacted by COVID-19 and had to undergo treatment,” he said. “This meant a loss of man hours, as the impacted staff had to isolate and/or get treatment. Nonetheless, the office embarked on VBI backlog clearance and achieved its targets.”

Mr Gaskin said his office has worked to build capacity.

“The office offered training to immigration officers on key prosecutorial aspects such as chain of custody, application of judges rules, interviewing of suspects,

MIGRANTS CONVICTED NEARLY 200 hundred migrants were convicted of immigration offences on Friday.

According to a statement from the Department of Immigration, 170 Haitians and two Cubans were charged in Magistrate’s Court before Magistrates Shaka Serville and Algernon Allen, Jr, for various violations of the Immigration Act. The Haitian nationals were charged with illegal landing. Thirty-three of them were subsequently convicted and fined $100 each or, in default of payment, ordered to serve two weeks at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

The remaining 137 migrants were convicted and given a conditional discharge, with the stipulation that any further violation of the Immigration Act would result in a $300 fine and/or three months in prison.

The Cubans were convicted of overstaying and were conditionally discharged with the same stipulations as the conditionally discharged Haitian migrants. Additionally, deportation at their own expense was recommended.

Upon payment of fines or completion of custodial sentences, all migrants were ordered to be turned over to the Department of Immigration for deportation.

FIVE DRUG ARRESTS IN GB AND ABACO

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

DRUG arrests were made in Grand Bahama and Abaco in separate incidents this week that resulted in the arrests of five men.

In Grand Bahama, police arrested a man after suspected marijuana was discovered at a residence in the Freeport area on Thursday, January 13.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Stephen Rolle reported that police executed a search warrant at a residence on Schooner Lane, South Bahamia.

He said that officers found a quantity of suspected marijuana in a bedroom, which led to the arrest of an adult male, who is assisting police with their investigations.

In a separate matter, police arrested three men for alleged drug possession in the Eight Mile Rock area.

Reports are that shortly before 4pm on Thursday, a team of officers from the Predator Unit were on mobile patrol when they observed a grey-coloured Acura TSX sedan with three men inside. They were in the area of Hepburn Town, Eight Mile Rock.

When police attempted

to stop the vehicle, the driver sped off. The officers pursued and saw the driver throw an object from the car.

ASP Rolle said the vehicle eventually came to a stop. Police took the men back to the area to search for the object. Police found a clear plastic bag, containing a quantity of suspected marijuana.

As a result, the three men were arrested. Investigations are continuing.

• Abaco police arrested a male driver after illegal drugs were allegedly found in a vehicle.

According to police reports, shortly after 3pm on Thursday, January 13, a team of officers from the Coopers Town Police Station were on routine mobile patrol in the area of the Little Abaco 2 Bridge when they stopped a white Buick vehicle for a traffic offence.

Officers searched the vehicle and discovered a black garbage bag containing 15 packages of suspected marijuana. They also found another black garbage bag containing suspected marijuana in the car’s trunk.

ASP Rolle said that $665, suspected to be the proceeds of crime, were also confiscated.

Investigations are continuing into the matter.

confessions among others,” he said. “This is in line with the policy for enhancing capacity of agencies that have delegated prosecutorial powers.”

He added: “The office successfully mounted appeals on points of law and public concern before the Court of Appeal. This not only restored parity in the application of the law, but also contributed to the development of constitutional jurisprudence.

A noteworthy case is DPP v Canes Villus. This case dealt with the constitutional delegation by the DPP generally, and particularly, in the preparation and execution of VBIs. This developed jurisprudence will go a long way in protecting the constitutional independence of the ODPP. Another noteworthy case is the DPP v Andre Valdes, which declared sentencing principles on manslaughter by negligence, and sentencing principles generally.”

Mr Gaskin said he expects a website for his office to be launched next month to help increase awareness of his office’s mandate and operations.

The Tribune visited the scene yesterday and spoke with relatives.

The victim’s sister, Shelly Mildor said their mother Ghislaine Jean was the one who found him first, lying on the ground after the shots went off.

Ms Jean said when she came home from work that day, she met her daughter and son outside listening to music.

“I come from work, tired.

I tell them I’ll be inside. I lay down. After a couple minutes later, she (her daughter) come lay down in the back of me,” Ms Jean said.

“I tell Rico don’t be long outside. I want him (to) come inside.”

She said her son said he was coming inside in a few minutes, however a short time later his mother heard gunshots.

The deceased was described by loved ones as a nice person.

“You could ask anybody.

He sitting there. He don’t go nowhere. My son ain’t kill nobody,” his mother said.

His sister said she was still in shock.

“I still can’t believe it when I wake up in the morning, like it don’t feel

A FAMILY member speaking to The Tribune after the shooting.

Photo: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff real,” she said.

The family said they have no idea who is behind the shooting.

Mildor leaves behind two children.

Anyone with information on this shooting is asked to call police at 5029991, Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS(8477) — or the nearest police station.

MONDAY, JANUARY 17, 2022

THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis Ann Marie Davis departing Nassau for Dubai, accompanied by Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg. On hand to see the Prime Minister off were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation Chester Cooper and Acting Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander.

PHOTO: Kemuel Stubbs/BIS

Will Dubai spending bring value for money?

By MALCOLM STRACHAN AS the wheels lifted on the flights taking the Bahamian delegation to Dubai for the Expo event being held there, the debate over the cost of the trip was already well underway.

The cost of the trip was revealed on Friday, with up to $1m approved by the Davis administration for the Bahamas Pavilion and a Bahamian presence in Dubai. The private sector is contributing $500,000, while the United Arab Emirates has spent $3.5m on the Bahamian trip, with the UAE covering the cost of Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis’ delegation.

There was some muddying of the waters in the statement on Friday, with director of communications Latrae Rahming saying that the previous administration had approved $1.7m for the cost of the trip.

What was missing from the statement, however, was any indication of how much the government thinks the country will benefit from the trip. That’s the crucial part – whether this is value for money or not.

It doesn’t matter if you’re spending $1m, $1.7m, or $100m as long as it’s worth it. What frustrates people is seeing money being spent – and this time while we’re told how tight finances are – without necessarily seeing a tangible benefit from it.

Take a look at recent comments by the InterAmerican Bank which pointed out that if The Bahama invested properly in its digital infrastructure

– internet access, broadband connections and so on – it could reap huge financial benefits.

In a report, the bank revealed, suggested an investment of $30.7m would close the “digital infrastructure gap”. $30m sounds a lot to spend, but the rewards for that are predicted to be many times more.

The report said: “Closing the digital infrastructure gap would bring benefits estimated at 5.6 percent of GDP and productivity gains of 4.6 percent over six years.

Although these gains are below Latin American and Caribbean averages (9.5 percent and 7.7 percent respectively) they still well offset the costs, as the digital multiplier is above 20.

Moreover, such an investment would create more than 4,000 jobs.”

In total, the investment is predicted to bring in $715m to the economy if we made it. Now that’s value for money. It would make a substantial impact on the economy, it would bring jobs, it would improve people’s lifestyle, it would improve access to services – if the Dubai trip can bring even half that return, we ought to be delighted.

What the country needs is to see effective government benefitting the people. We need to see tangible benefits from sensible investment.

Instead, too often we see unaccountable junkets and jobs for the favoured.

The new FNM leader, Michael Pintard, has called for the end to the “vicious

cycle” of people being fired whenever a new government comes in.

His call was prompted by reported terminations and layoffs at Urban Renewal Centres, and Mr Pintard said: “We believe that this vicious cycle of removing persons who are not overtly political appointees, but who are Bahamian citizens working just above and not far beyond minimum wage, these people’s lives should not be disrupted because of a change of government, particularly since these are persons who have been functioning as consummate professionals, they are not using government premises or resources for partisan

political purposes.”

The idea that partisan job hiring has been taking place is hardly discouraged by the words of Foreign Affairs Minister and PLP chairman Fred Mitchell, who urged party supporters seeking jobs to be patient and “hold on”.

The FNM is far from immune from criticism in such matters either – one only has to look at the police officers who were shipped off to obscure posts only to be brought back again under the new government, or the financial secretary who was ousted only to return again with the change of administration. The PLP

seems to be repeating that approach with the prison commissioner.

How does such a turnover benefit the Bahamians trying to access government services? How does it represent value for money with firing and hiring dependent on how your political loyalties are perceived? How does it ensure our government is able to hire the best of the best, when those being hired have to be aware a change in administration could see them dumped for someone whose political opinions are more favourable to the incoming government?

All of these different

elements show the need for government that is focused on the best outcome, and making sure any investment brings an appropriate return. The money spent on supporting those out of work due to the pandemic won’t see a financial return, but it has been invaluable in keeping people going through a time of crisis for our country. But too often we look at money being spent on the favoured, and not on the essential.

Will the Dubai trip prove worthwhile? We must all hope so. Our country can use all the investment it can get – and can ill afford throwing money away without results.

Lessons from a way of life

THE TRIBUNE

HAVE you ever noticed that members of the Rastafarian community have largely remained relatively unscathed by the COVID19 pandemic? I pondered for quite a while as to why I hadn’t heard of a single Rasta who died from the virus. Was the media just ignoring this community?

Were their cases being under-reported by Rastafarians because of a lack of testing within their population or are they doing something, purposefully or as part of their normal routines, that prevents them from either getting sick, spreading the virus or both?

Rastafarians don’t take any (non-herbal) medications so as a community it’s not surprising they expressed early on that they would not get vaccinated so we know vaccines do not explain why the Rasta population did not appear to experience the impact of the pandemic like others did. But the same can be said of other unique communities like the Amish, who are relatively reclusive and primarily live in isolated community clusters.

Members of their community were indeed infected

by COVID-19 but as in the Rastafarian community, very few, if any were hospitalised and died from it.

I’m a huge proponent of getting vaccinated but while vaccines lessen the risk of hospitalisation and death, they alone cannot safeguard us from getting infected.

Accordingly, it is worthwhile to consider what other parameters (outside of wearing masks and using hand sanitisers frequently throughout the day) can be employed to curtail exposure and infection from this seemingly endless cycle of new variants.

I’m led to believe the overwhelmingly organic and plant-based diet of many individuals within such communities may be a significant factor in their limited COVID hospitalisation and death rates. This then also opens the door to study individuals residing in the Amazon community

Monday, January 17, 2022, PAGE 9

By DR KENNETH D KEMP

to see if there is a correla- begun to influence more tion between their lifestyle mainstream sentimentali(specifically activity level), ties. I have been told that dietary habits and COVID the owners and farmers of infection.

Abaco Neem share simiEarlier this week, I had lar views, that is, nature an enlightening interview provides the best preventawith Priest Marcus, a Ras- tive medicine of all if you tafarian and the chairman understand it and benefit of the House of Rastafari. from it correctly.

He states that members of A study conducted in his community partake in a part with scientists at the primarily vegan (called Ital) Oregon Health and Science diet.

They Univerconsume sity was ‘I’m led to believe high quantijust pubties of fruits the overwhelmingly lished by and vegeta- organic and plantthe Journal bles and use based diet of many of Natural coconut oil Products. or coconut individuals within such In it they milk to mix communities may be stated that with herbs a significant factor in some to create marijuana their own their limited COVID compounds, spice. They hospitalisation and namely use a limited death rates. This then CBGA amount, if (cannaany, of salt also opens the door bigerolic and sugar. to study individuals acid) and This alone residing in the Amazon CBDA can account (cannabidifor the fact community to see if olic acid) that no there is a correlation bind to member of the SARSbetween their lifestyle CoV-2 spike their community is (specifically activity protein and overweight level), dietary habits thereby or obese, block a remark- and COVID infection.’ it from able fact in entering our culture and something human cells and causing that deserves far greater an infection. Despite this attention than it currently revelation, the high rate receives. of marijuana use within In addition, their activ- the Rastafarian commuity level is high when nity can’t take sole credit compared with the general for their low infection and population because many mortality rates because of them work on farms or cannabinoid acids are heat in construction and prefer sensitive so smoking them to walk or bike during the would render them ineffecday as opposed to driv- tive. That then reinforces ing. Priest Marcus’ take the notion that diet may home message is that the be the ultimate causative world’s natural resources, factor for their higher-thannamely herbs can heal the average immunity when nation – a notion they’ve compared with the general been espousing for years population. but one that has only now So, how then can we

A BAHAMIAN BUSINESS

HERE TO HELP

extrapolate this information and implement it effectively into our own lives? One such method is to change our eating habits.

Eating an abundance of fruits and vegetables loaded with a vast array of vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre daily would help boost our immune system and prevent illness.

The government of The Bahamas, namely the Ministry of Health and Wellness in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture has openly discussed focusing more on preventing illness through the foods we eat rather than simply treating the multiple diseases either initiated or exacerbated by a lifetime of poor dietary choices. This is a far less costly and more rewarding initiative. Hopefully those efforts will prove to be efficacious in the short rather than long term.

I love meat, steak in particular, so going vegan is certainly not in the cards for me. But to counter that while maintaining the pleasure of animal protein, I exercise vigorously six days per week, drink lots of water, take vitamins daily and always consume a full serving of fruits and vegetables. While it would be presumptuous of me to say the formula should work for everyone and every Bahamian should do what I do - balance the love of good food with the love of activity - all I can say is it works for me. And one lesson I hope we have all learned from this pandemic is that our immune systems are our first line of defence so whatever it takes, less fatty foods, more vegetables, heart healthy behaviour, we now know we cannot wait and promise we will start

living like that later. Today, every minute of a healthy immune system counts.

That takes us full circle back to where we began with trying to understand why the Rastafarian community has fared so well in a pandemic that took so many others down a different path. There are approximately one million Rastafarians throughout the world, but their highest population resides in Jamaica.

While I lived in the US, I once rode the subway while sitting next to a Rasta, and an elderly Caucasian lady entered. We both gestured to give her our seat and she accepted the Rastafarian’s offer. As she sat next to me, she patted me on the leg and smiled. Then she looked up at him and said ‘Everything Irie’. I thought to myself what a sweet lady, but I looked at him and I could tell he was offended. He smiled but his eyes reflected something other than happiness. The energy changed and every other passenger nearby, other than him and myself, were oblivious to it. Later that night I asked my father

about it and he stated that Irie is a Jamaican slang and not every Rasta is from Jamaica. Perhaps in that moment he also realised the lady accepted his seat because she preferred to sit next to me. It was a subtle prejudice that I was too ignorant in the moment to realise and one that deserves to be elucidated.

There is still a significant level of stigma against small sects like the Rastafarians and Amish communities, but it is incumbent for us all, as my Christian faith has taught me, to treat their adherents with the same respect we would give to anyone of our own faith.

This is all the more significant now that a world-wide pandemic is glaringly teaching us such communities may have a lot more to teach us than previously surmised. And because of the general humility of most Rastafarians, they have been too kind to call their own success to our attention. All the more reason to show our respect.

• Nicknamed ‘The Prince of Podiatry’, Dr Kenneth D Kemp is the founder and medical director of Bahamas Foot and Ankle located in Caves Village, Western New Providence. He served as the deputy chairman for the Health Council for five years and he currently sits on the board of directors for the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation in his role as co-vice-chairman.

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PAGE 10, Monday, January 17, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

Excruciating choices and impossible ethical decisions for hospital staff

By MATTHEW WYNIA Director of the Centre for Bioethics and Humanities University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus AS THE omicron variant brings a new wave of uncertainty and fear, I can’t help reflecting back to March 2020, when people in health care across the U.S. watched in horror as COVID-19 swamped New York City.

Hospitals were overflowing with sick and dying patients, while ventilators and personal protective equipment were in short supply. Patients sat for hours or days in ambulances and hallways, waiting for a hospital bed to open up. Some never made it to the intensive care unit bed they needed.

I’m an infectious disease specialist and bioethicist at the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus. I worked with a team nonstop from March into June 2020, helping my hospital and state get ready for the massive influx of COVID-19 cases we expected might inundate our health care system.

When health systems are moving toward crisis conditions, the first steps we take are to do all we can to conserve and reallocate scarce resources. Hoping to keep delivering quality care – despite shortages of space, staff and stuff – we do things like canceling elective surgeries, moving surgical staff to inpatient units to provide care and holding patients in the emergency department when the hospital is full.

These are called “contingency” measures. Though they can be inconvenient for patients, we hope patients won’t be harmed by them.

But when a crisis escalates to the point that we simply can’t provide necessary services to everyone who needs them, we are forced to perform crisis triage. At that point, the care provided to some patients is admittedly less than high quality – sometimes much less.

The care provided under such extreme levels of resource shortages is called “crisis standards of care”. Crisis standards can impact the use of any type of resource that is in extremely short supply, from staff (like nurses or

A MEDICAL worker wearing personal protective equipment cleans gurneys in the emergency department intake area at NYC Health and Hospitals Metropolitan in New York.

Photo: John Minchillo/AP respiratory therapists) to stuff (like ventilators or N95 masks) to space (like ICU beds).

And because the care we can provide during crisis standards is much lower than normal quality for some patients, the process is supposed to be fully transparent and formally allowed by the state.

WHAT TRIAGE LOOKS LIKE IN PRACTICE

In the spring of 2020, our plans assumed the worst – that we wouldn’t have enough ventilators for all the people who would surely die without one. So we focused on how to make ethical determinations about who should get the last ventilator, as though any decision like that could be ethical.

But one key fact about triage is that it’s not something you decide to do or

not. If you don’t do it, then up how many of a patient’s you are deciding to behave organs are failing and as if things are normal, and how badly. That’s because when you run out of venti- people with multiple organs lators, the next person to failing aren’t as likely to come along doesn’t get one. survive, which means they That’s still a shouldn’t be form of triage. ‘When a crisis given the last Now imag- escalates to the ventilator if ine that all someone with the ventila- point that we better odds tors are taken simply can’t also needs it. and the next provide necessary Fortuperson who nately, before needs one services to we had to use is a young everyone who this triage woman with a needs them, we are system that complication spring, we got delivering her forced to perform a reprieve. baby.

Mask-wearcrisis triage. At That’s what ing, social that point, the we had to talk distancing about in early care provided to and busi2020. My col- some patients is ness closures leagues and went into I didn’t sleep admittedly less effect, and than high quality much. they worked.

To avoid – sometimes We bent the that scenario, curve.

In our hospital much less.’

April 2020, and many Colorado others proposed using a had some days with almost scoring system that counts 1,000 COVID-19 cases per

day. But by early June, our daily case rates were in the low 100s. COVID-19 cases would surge back in August as those measures were relaxed, of course. And Colorado’s surge in December 2020 was especially severe, but we subdued these subsequent waves with the same basic public health measures.

And then what at the time felt like a miracle happened: a safe and effective vaccine became available.

First it was just for people at highest risk, but then it became available for all adults by later in the spring of 2021. We were just over one year into the pandemic, and people felt like the end was in sight. So masks went by the wayside.

Too soon, it turned out.

A HAUNTING REMINDER OF 2020

In December 2021 here in Colorado, hospitals were filled to the brim again.

Some were over 100 percent capacity and a third of the hospitals expected ICU bed shortages during the last weeks of 2021.

But today, some members of the public have little patience for wearing masks or avoiding big crowds.

People who’ve been vaccinated don’t think it’s fair they should be forced to cancel holiday plans, when over 80 percent of the people hospitalized for COVID-19 are the unvaccinated. And those who aren’t vaccinated … well, many seem to believe they just aren’t at risk, which couldn’t be further from the truth.

So, hospitals around our state are yet again facing triage-like decisions on a daily basis.

In a few important ways, the situation has changed.

Today, our hospitals have plenty of ventilators, but not enough staff to run them. Stress and burnout are taking their toll.

So, those of us in the health care system are hitting our breaking point again. And when hospitals are full, we are forced into making triage decisions.

ETHICAL DILEMMAS AND PAINFUL CONVERSATIONS

In early 2020, we were looking for the patients who would die with or without a ventilator in order to preserve the ventilator; today, our planning team is looking for people who might survive outside of the ICU. And because those

patients will need a bed on the main floors, we are also forced to find people on hospital floor beds who could be sent home early, even though that might not be as safe as we’d like.

For instance, take a patient who has diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA – extremely high blood sugar with fluid and electrolyte disturbances. DKA is dangerous and typically requires admission to an ICU for a continuous infusion of insulin. But patients with DKA only rarely end up requiring mechanical ventilation. So, under crisis triage circumstances, we might move them to hospital floor beds to free up some ICU beds for very sick COVID-19 patients.

But where are we going to get regular hospital rooms for these patients with DKA, since those are full too? Here’s what we might do: People with serious infections due to IV drug use are regularly kept in the hospital while they receive long courses of IV antibiotics. This is because if they were to use an IV catheter to inject drugs at home, it could be very dangerous, even deadly.

But under triage conditions, we might let them go home if they promise not to use their IV line to inject drugs.

Obviously, that’s not completely safe. It’s clearly not the usual standard of care – but it is a crisis standard of care.

Worse than all of this is anticipating the conversations with patients and their families. These are what I dread the most, and in the last few weeks of 2021, we had to start practising them again. How should we break the news to patients that the care they are getting isn’t what we’d like because we are overwhelmed? Here’s what we might have to say: “… there are just too many sick people coming to our hospital all at once, and we don’t have enough of what is needed to take care of all the patients the way we would like to … … at this point, it is reasonable to do a trial of treatment on the ventilator for 48 hours, to see how your dad’s lungs respond, but then we’ll need to reevaluate … … I’m sorry, your dad is sicker than others in the hospital, and the treatments haven’t been working in the way we had hoped.”

Back when vaccines came on the horizon a year ago, we hoped we’d never need to have these conversations.

It’s hard to accept that they are needed again now.

• Originally published on theconversation.com

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, January 17, 2022, PAGE 11

COMMONWEALTH CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES – ALL REPUBLICS BY 2030?

BY 2030, it is more than likely that the eight independent Commonwealth countries which are still monarchical states, with Queen Elizabeth II as their Sovereign, will become Republics.

In doing so, the eight countries will join the other four Commonwealth Caribbean countries that have already separated from the Queen, approving one of their citizens as President.

The eight remaining monarchies are: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts-Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Countries that are already Republics are: Barbados, Dominica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. Of the latter four, only Guyana has an Executive President who is directly elected by the electorate. In the other three countries, the President, carries out largely ceremonial duties.

In those countries that have converted to Republican status with non-executive Presidents, the role of the President is no different in substance to the duties performed by a Governor-General. The simple but fundamental difference is that the Head of State is not a person, living in a distant land and who is not participating in the daily concerns of the society. The further important difference is that the Head of State is not also the hereditary Sovereign of Britain, the country that exercised colonial control for centuries.

The anachronism of the Sovereign of Britain also being the Sovereign of Caribbean states has long been recognized in the region. The reluctance to undertake the change to a Republic, with a President drawn from the citizenry of the country, is the consequence of concern about the political advantage that could be sought by political parties during national debate, leading to a referendum to decide the matter.

When a referendum was held in St Vincent and the Grenadines in 2009, it became politically contentious with speculation about the motivation of the Government of Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves.

Suggestions were also made that the country would lose investment from foreigners who would be concerned about perceived protections that would be lost by separation from the Queen. The referendum in St Vincent and the Grenadines failed.

The Government of Barbados was able to sidestep a referendum on the change from Monarchy to Republic because the country’s

World View

By SIR RONALD SANDERS

constitution did not require a referendum. This was also the case in Dominica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

Parliamentary majorities by the governing parties ensured change without contentious public party-political debate that would most certainly have fomented national division.

Guyana is the only one of the four Republics that has an executive Presidency directly elected by the electorate. In 1970, four years after its independence from Britain, its parliament voted for the country to become a Republic with a ceremonial President as is now the case in the other three Commonwealth Caribbean Republics. However, a new constitution was promulgated in 1980, abolishing the ceremonial Presidency and replacing it with an Executive President who is elected in Presidential elections every five years.

The problem that the eight remaining monarchies face is that their constitutions

require them to hold referenda to effect a change to Republican status. And, unless consensus is secured by all political parties in each country to endorse Republican status and publicly declare that position in writing, any referendum would become an opportunity for political dispute.

Undoubtedly, this was why Jamaica’s elder statesman, PJ Patterson, wrote to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in December 2021, calling on them to agree to a non-partisan referendum, saying: “It would be a spectacular contribution to building our parliamentary democracy; permitting both Parties to share a single platform in a Campaign to secure National approval and allow one of our own image to become Head of State”.

The course open to the present Prime Ministers of the eight monarchical states is to start discussions with the leaders of all political parties in each of

their states to agree on the transition to Republican status and on the type of Presidency they want - ceremonial or executive. They would also have to reach broad agreement on consequential changes that would have to be made to their existing constitutions and on checks and balances on the exercise of power. All of this could be inscribed in a Memorandum of Understanding.

If the political parties could reach such consensus, their Memorandum of Understanding could then be given to a team of legal experts to draft a new Constitution for their review and agreement. Once this further agreement is reached, the political parties could then hold town hall meetings, virtual meetings and utilize both traditional and social media platforms to inform their citizens about the new constitution and their status as Republics.

It should not be beyond leaders of political parties who acknowledge the anachronism of remaining monarchies to advance this national aspiration.

It would be the most non disruptive approach to completing the process of independence in each of these countries.

And, while they are taking action to become

Republics, they could simultaneously include in their countries’ referenda the decision to end the relationship with the British Privy Council in favour of the Caribbean Court of Justice.

None of this would be an insult to the Queen who is universally respected in the Commonwealth Caribbean and whose efforts to serve the people of these countries, even from the distance of Britain, has been deeply appreciated.

The time has simply come to manifestly end the Caribbean’s long history

of association with Britain as a colonial power, transforming the relationship to a partnership of cooperation with a Commonwealth sister-nation.

• Responses and previous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com.

(The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the OAS. He is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are his own)

BARBADOS’ new President Sandra Mason, centre right, awards Prince Charles with the Order of Freedom of Barbados during the presidential inauguration ceremony in Bridgetown, Barbados, as Barbados stops pledging allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II as it becomes a republic.

Photo: David McD Crichlow/AP

PAGE 12, Monday, January 17, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

FREE TESTING ‘TREMENDOUS’ HELP FOR BAHAMAS HOTEL WORKERS

By PAVEL BAILEY

BAHAMAS Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union President Darrin Woods says hotel workers have been helped tremendously by government’s free COVID-19 test pilot.

In an interview on Friday, the union president said the initiative was something he supported because it represented a more “economical” option for union members, especially those who are unvaccinated and have to test for COVID-19 regularly.

He said: “It’s been a tremendous help to them because they’ve been able to participate in it. because they, the unvaccinated persons, are required to test regularly every five days and, of course, it was a cost

to them.

“And so, therefore, now with the free testing it is much more economical for them to go through the government system and participate in that.”

He went on to voice longstanding issues with hotels requiring unvaccinated workers to test weekly.

While he understands that the current health policy requires people to get tested to travel, Mr Woods said he is firmly against the private sector extending this requirement to its domestic employees.

“We don’t believe that employers should make employees test for employment because again the government is the major employer on the island and not every employer is asking or requiring persons

to be tested.”

Mr Woods believed that measures listed in the Health & Safety Act should not be passed on to the employees, adding he has been trying to resolve the matter through legal means.

While he is still against hotel workers having to get tested to go to work, Mr Woods said he is glad that the government followed through on a campaign promise to make free testing available.

“On the one hand, we don’t believe that they should’ve been tested to go to work, but in the interim because they are required to test and until the matter has been adjudicated then, of course, the free testing of course has been part of the New Day government’s platform on their campaign

trail that they would make free testing available.

“And they have gone ahead and implemented the pilot programme and, of course, we hope to see that continue to mushroom as it would have done.”

While the free testing programme is still limited in its scope, he hopes that it will continue to grow so more people can benefit from it.

“They’ve moved from 400 to 1000 a day, so we are looking in the near future to see those numbers continue to grow where it is widely available for anyone who actually needs to be tested.”

As the global COVID case numbers continues to rise he mentioned the growing concerns of hotel union members of ensuring that guests entering

the country that test positive for COVID-19 are properly contained and monitored to ensure tourism workers safety.

“There is concern in terms of, how should I say it, with the ensuring that persons, I’m talking about the guests now, who have contracted COVID to make sure that they are properly contained and quarantined, and they are monitored. Pretty much the same way if you or I were to catch it, there is a quarantining period where we have to stay home, and the various reporting is done just to make sure. But the concern that we get from them is better control for persons who have been known to have tested positive, especially in the industry. How do you kind of contain them to a

particular area or room or whatever have you?”

When asked if the government is doing enough to protect hotel workers from guests who test positive for COVID he said: “Yes, I think the government needs to look at it, but I guess you could say they are probably trying to do a balancing act.

Because they don’t want to frighten – my words – the guests, or tourists from coming to the country, but at the end of the day whatever is necessary.”

Mr Woods noted that while the latest strain of COVID is very easily transmittable he thinks that people need to take the necessary precautions to keep the situation from getting too far out of hand, including continuing to follow the relevant safety protocols.

THIS satellite image taken by Himawari-8, a Japanese weather satellite operated by Japan Meteorological Agency and released by National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), shows an undersea volcano eruption at the Pacific nation of Tonga on Saturday.

Flight reaches Tonga after undersea volcano eruption sparks tsunami WELLINGTON, New Zealand Associated Press NEW Zealand’s military was able to send a surveillance flight to Tonga to assess the extent of the damage from a huge undersea volcanic eruption.

A towering ash cloud had prevented the military from launching any flights earlier to the Pacific island nation.

People on Tonga described their country as looking like a moonscape as they began the task of cleaning up from the tsunami waves and ash fall caused by the eruption.

Communications with the island nation remained limited after the internet was cut soon after the eruption on Saturday evening.

There were no reports of injuries or deaths, although concerns remained for the fate of people on some of the smaller islands near the volcano.

Meanwhile, scientists said they didn’t think the eruption would have a significant impact on the Earth’s climate.

Huge volcanic eruptions can sometimes cause global cooling as sulfur dioxide is pumped into the stratosphere. But in the case of the Tonga eruption, initial satellite measurements indicated the amount of sulfur dioxide released would only have a tiny effect of perhaps 0.01 Celsius (0.02 Fahrenheit) global average cooling, said Alan Robock,

a professor at Rutgers University.

Satellite images showed the spectacular undersea eruption Saturday evening, with a plume of ash, steam and gas rising like a giant mushroom above the South Pacific waters.

A sonic boom could be heard as far away as Alaska and sent pressure shockwaves around the planet twice, altering atmospheric pressure that may have briefly helped clear out the fog in Seattle, according to the National Weather Service. Large waves were detected as far as the Caribbean due to pressure changes generated by the eruption.

In Tonga it sent tsunami waves crashing across the shore and people rushing to higher ground.

With internet and phone lines down, friends and family members around the world were left anxiously trying to get in touch.

Government websites and other official sources remained without updates on Sunday afternoon.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Sunday there had not yet been any official reports of injuries or deaths in Tonga, but cautioned that authorities hadn’t yet made contact with some coastal areas and smaller islands.

“Communication with Tonga remains very limited.

And I know that is causing a huge amount of anxiety for the Tongan community here,” Ardern said.

She said there had been significant damage to boats and shops along the Tongan coastline. The capital, Nuku’alofa, was covered in a thick film of volcanic dust, Ardern said, contaminating water supplies and making fresh water a vital need.

Aid agencies said thick ash and smoke had prompted authorities to ask people to wear masks and drink bottled water.

In a video posted on Facebook, Nightingale Filihia was sheltering at her family’s home from a rain of volcanic ash and tiny pieces of rock that turned the sky pitch black.

“It’s really bad. They told us to stay indoors and cover our doors and windows because it’s dangerous,” she said. “I felt sorry for the people. Everyone just froze when the explosion happened. We rushed home.”

Outside the house, people were seen carrying umbrellas for protection.

Ardern said New Zealand was unable to send a surveillance flight over Tonga on Sunday because the ash cloud was 63,000 feet (19,000 meters) high but they hoped to try again on Monday, followed by supply planes and navy ships.

One complicating factor to any international aid effort is that Tonga has so far managed to avoid any outbreaks of COVID-19.

Ardern said New Zealand’s military staff were all fully vaccinated and willing to

follow any protocols established by Tonga.

Dave Snider, the tsunami warning coordinator for the National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska, said it was very unusual for a volcanic eruption to affect an entire ocean basin, and the spectacle was both “humbling and scary.”

The tsunami waves caused damage to boats as far away as New Zealand and Santa Cruz, California, but did not appear to cause any widespread damage.

In northern Peru’s Lambayeque region, two women drowned after being swept away by “abnormal waves” following the eruption, authorities said.

Tsunami advisories were earlier issued for Japan, Hawaii, Alaska and the US Pacific coast. The US Geological Survey estimated the eruption caused the equivalent of a magnitude 5.8 earthquake. Scientists said tsunamis generated by volcanoes rather than earthquakes are relatively rare.

Rachel Afeaki-Taumoepeau, who chairs the New Zealand Tonga Business Council, said she hoped the relatively low level of the tsunami waves would have allowed most people to get to safety, although she worried about those living on islands closest to the volcano. She said she hadn’t yet been able to contact her friends and family in Tonga.

“We are praying that the damage is just to

infrastructure and people were able to get to higher land,” she said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote on Twitter he is “deeply concerned for the people of Tonga as they recover from the aftermath of a volcanic eruption and tsunami. The United States stands prepared to provide support to our Pacific neighbors.”

Tonga gets its internet via an undersea cable from Suva, Fiji. All internet connectivity with Tonga was lost at about 6.40pm local time Saturday, said Doug Madory, director of internet analysis for the network intelligence firm Kentik.

On Tonga, which is home to about 105,000 people, video posted to social media showed large waves washing ashore in coastal areas and swirling around homes, a church and other buildings. A Twitter user identified as Dr. Faka’iloatonga Taumoefolau posted video showing waves crashing ashore.

“Can literally hear the volcano eruption, sounds pretty violent,” he wrote, adding in a later post: “Raining ash and tiny pebbles, darkness blanketing the sky.”

The explosion of the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcano, about 40 miles north of Nuku’alofa, was the latest in a series of dramatic eruptions. In late 2014 and early 2015, eruptions created a small new island and disrupted international air travel to the

Pacific archipelago for several days.

Earth imaging company Planet Labs PBC had watched the island in recent days after a new volcanic vent began erupting in late December. Satellite images showed how drastically the volcano had shaped the area, creating a growing island off Tonga.

“The surface area of the island appears to have expanded by nearly 45% due to ashfall,” Planet Labs said days before the latest activity.

It’s too early to tell how much ash was produced by the eruption because the volcanic cloud included vapor resulting from sea water interacting with the hot magma, experts said.

The eruption in shallow water may be similar to a series of eruptions between 2016 and 2017 that shaped Bogoslof Island north of the Aleutian Islands, said Michelle Coombs, a scientist at the US Geological Survey’s Alaska Volcano Observatory.

“When it erupts in shallow sea water, that interaction between hot magma and sea water adds extra energy to the explosion and creates taller and bigger ash clouds,” Coombs said.

The ash cloud was drifting westward and aircrafts will be likely diverted around its periphery as a precaution, said Scott Bachmeier, a research meteorologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

SPORTS PAGE 13

MONDAY, JANUARY 17, 2022

Buddy Hield, Page 16

Terrence Jones off to record-breaking start

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

G

Miller-Uibo says ‘world record would be nice’ TWO-time Olympic 400-metre champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo told Tribune Sports that she would like to take a crack at the world record of 47.60 that was set by Marita Koch of East Germany on October 6, 1985, in Canberra, Australia.

SEE STORY AND PHOTOS ON PAGE 18 Photo: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

rand Bahamian Terrence Jones got off to a scorching, record-breaking start in his indoor debut for the Texas Tech Red Raiders to highlight a weekend filled with a number of Bahamians competing for their respective colleges and universities in various meets around the United States of America.

After he posted the school’s second fastest time of 6.53 seconds in the semifinals of the men’s 60 metres at their Texas Tech Corky Classic in Lubbock, Texas, Jones came back and erased the record of 6.52 by Divine Oduduru by setting the new standard of 6.45.

In finishing well ahead of his teammates Jasolby Shelton (6.61) and Daniel Omah (6.68), Jones clocked the fastest time in the world as well as tied the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) record co-held by Tennessee’s Christian Coleman in 2017 and BYU’s Leonard MylesMills in 1999 and erased Warren Fraser’s Bahamian national record of 6.54 set at the Auburn Invitational on January 18, 2014.

“It was my first indoor meet event,” said Jones, who is coming off his first outdoor season last year for the Red Raiders where he competed in eight meets that included a NCAA Championships appearance, while becoming an All-American. “I just wanted to get through the meet, execute, do what my coaches tell me and then just produce results.”

The 19-year-old graduate of Tabernacle Baptist Academy is expected back in action at the Red Raider

TERRENCE Jones is congratulated by his teammates.

Open on Friday, January 21 in Lubbock before they close out the month at the same venue at the Texas Tech Open & Multis over the weekend of January 28-29.

Three years ago in 2019, Jones had a sensational season, winning the under20 boys’ gold medal in the 400m and the bronze in the 200m at the CARIFTA Games in the Cayman Islands before he went on to qualify for the World Championships in Doha, Qatar where he ran in the first round of the men’s 200m.

Charlton led by example for Bahamian connection At the University of Kentucky at the Jim Green Track and Field Invitational in Lexington, Charlton, competing for Puma, won the women’s 60m hurdles in 8.02. She had the fastest qualifying time in the semifinal, running 8.00 and in the preliminaries, she did the second fastest time of 8.37.The 27-year-old Kentucky volunteer assistant coach at Purdue also ran in the preliminaries of the 60m, clocking 7.54. Jaida Knowles, running as a freshman after she sat out last season with an injury,

had the sixth best time of 7.63 and Charlton’s younger sister, Anthaya Charlton, in her freshman season, came in ninth in 7.66.

While Devynne Charlton went on to win the semifinal in 7.42, Knowles, 19, was tenth in 7.77. Anthaya Charlton, also 19, didn’t contest the semi’s and even though she qualified as the top seed, Devynne Charlton didn’t run in the final.

“I felt really good about my races today,” Devynne Charlton said. “This is the fastest 60 hurdles opener I’ve ever had and second fastest 60m dash opener. I think it speaks a lot about the type of shape I’m in, but I’m excited because I still have more work to do, things to improve on.”

As for competing against Knowles and Anthaya Charlton, Devynne Charlton said it would have been fun going head-to-head with them, but her little sister pulled out of the semi-final and Knowles was in a different heat.

Anthaya Charlton, however, went on to compete in the 200m where she was 12th in 25.74.

Sophomore Megan Moss, the other member of the Bahamian connection, was

RYAN RECKLEY MAKES IT OFFICIAL WITH GIANTS

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE most highly touted Bahamian prospect of the 2022 International Signing Class, Ryan Reckley made it official with the San Francisco Giants.

Reckley signed his first professional contract before friends, family supporters and baseball enthusiasts at the Baha Mar Convention Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Maximum Development Academy infielder credited a strong support system which he called his

“village” - highlighted by his father Raymond Reckley and his mother, the late Patricia Reckley, who passed away in late November at age 51.

“My journey was filled with highs and lows, there were many wins and losses, but through God’s grace and the support of my amazing family members, coaches, teammates, and the many people who have played a part - I stand here as a product of your commitment,” he said.

“To my father, to my biggest supporter, my mother, who has transitioned from life to eternity, but is

RYAN Reckley signs with the San Francisco Giants. watching me proudly today.

I thank you.”

Reckley is listed as the No.9 international prospect by both MLB.com and

Baseball America. He was the top signing of a Giants recruiting class that also included No.30 prospect Juan Perez of Venezuela.

The Giants signed 11 prospects on the first day of the international signing period.

“I am extremely excited and motivated to help this team win in any which way I can. You are appreciated from the bottom of my heart and I just want to say thank you,” Reckley said to Giants executives. “I am humbled by these events and pray that they are only a catalyst for the goal that I have set of making myself

and my parents proud of my accomplishments. I see this as the beginning with the end in mind. A step toward my dreams and my future.”

With his fellow MaxD prospects in attendance, Reckley offered words of wisdom to thse looking to follow in his path. “Listen to your parents, hear the words from your aunt or uncle that are filled with wisdom. Study hard, train hard, practice as often as you can, don’t allow your weakness to be a downfall but allow it to be a point

SEE PAGE 14

Neymour and Simmons sign with Marlins

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net CHERIF Neymour and Toby Simmons became the latest Bahamian prospects to join the Miami Marlins organisation.

The International Sports Academy prospects officially signed their professional contracts surrounded by their respective support systems at the Balmoral on the opening day of the 2022 International Signing Period.

The duo will join a group of Bahamian prospects in the Marlins organisation headed by starting infielder Jasrado “Jazz” Chisholm Jr, Ian Lewis, Andre

Arthur and Steven Adderley. Neymour, a 17-year-old infielder, said his mother Kimmy Neymour served as his inspiration for much of his baseball journey.

“I would like to thank my biggest supporter, my mother. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be here playing baseball right now. I know how much you’ve sacrificed for me and I’m reminded everyday. The early mornings, the late nights, everything, I know. Some days you would be tired and I wanted to get extra ground balls or batting practice. You would always make time for me and I truly appreciate that,” he said. “Baseball and softball are generational sports

NEYMOUR

SIMMONS

for my family but it wasn’t until I was 10-years-old that I realised that this is what I loved to play and I wanted to be a professional baseball player. To all the pros that came before me, thank you for cheering me on and always supporting me. They say you are the

company you keep. The journey was long and tough but we worked and trusted the process and stayed true.”

Simmons, 17, is described as an electric outfielder which he said was a credit to both his older brother and his mother.

“To my iElite crew you have been there with me the whole time. To my brother Sean, you have been so important for my process.

“Having a big brother as a personal trainer isn’t always the best thing, but it’s helpful and he always made sure that I was always on my ‘A’ game and never missed days in the gym. He’s a big role model in my life,” he said.

“Mom, you’ve been with me from the beginning, all the long days at the field. There were times we went from baseball, to the track, to the baseball field.

You spent long days and

SEE PAGE 17

second in the 300m in 37.87 just behind her junior teammate Alexis Holmes, who won in 37.37. Knowles also competed in the event, coming in ninth in 41.90.

Moss also ran the third leg on Kentucky’s victorious women’s 4 x 400m relay team of Alexis Holmes, Karimah Davis and Dajour Miles in 3:33.02.

Moss, 19, is coming off her international debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in August for the women’s 4 x 400m relay, but they didn’t get to finish their preliminary race.

On the field, Anthaya Charlton got tied for third in the women’s long jump with a leap of 18-feet, 5-inches or 5.61m with Cincinnati’s sophomore Juliet McGregor. Cincinnati’s freshman Anaya Dees soared 18-09 (5.71m) to nip out Kentucky’s sophomore Annika Williams, who did 18-08 ½ (5.70m).

The Bahamian quartet, all graduates of St Augustine’s College and now coached by Bahamian Rolando ‘Lonnie’ Greene and assisted by “Golden Girl” Debbie FergusonMcKenzie, are expected to be back in action in Lubbock, Texas where they will compete at the Red Raider Open hosted by Texas Tech on Friday, January 21.

Cartwright and Gibson trade places At the Arkansas Invitational on Saturday in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the Bahamian duo of Indea Cartwright and Gabrielle Gibson placed higher than each other in the two races they competed in for Oral Roberts University.

In the women’s 60m hurdles, Cartwright, a graduate of St John’s College now in her sophomore year, placed

SEE PAGE 16

ROGER KELTY ‘WAS A GOOD FRIEND’ PAT Strachan, chairman of the Retired Boxers Association, expressed sadness on the passing of Roger Kelty, calling him “a good friend”.

“I was saddened to learn of his passing. I had communicated with Roger via e-mail to find out he was low. I met Roger over forty years ago. He was a good friend, a good Rotarian and an avid boxing fan and an outstanding boxing judge. He was always the first to offer himself to assist in whatever he could in amateur and professional boxing,” Strachan said.

“He judged hundreds of matches. He was one of the judges when I fought Matthew Saad Muhammad in 1987. He was a member of the Rotary Club of South East Nassau. On behalf of the RBA, I extend condolences to Roger’s family.

May his soul rest in peace.”

Wellington Miller, vicechairman of the RBA, also expressed his condolences to the Kelty family.

“Roger was a great friend to boxing. He served as one of my vice presidents in the Amateur Boxing Association as it was called then.

He also served as a judge on many occasions,” Miller recalled. “As VP, he was instrumental in fund-raising activities. Roger came to the Bahamas as a teacher at Queen’s College in the sixties and started a boxing club at the school.”

PAGE 14, Monday, January 17, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

49ers hang on late for 23-17 wild-card win over Cowboys

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Pro Football Writer ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Versatile receiver Deebo Samuel ran 26 yards for a touchdown the play after an interception by Dak Prescott, and the San Francisco 49ers held on for a 23-17 wild-card victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

The Cowboys had a final chance with 32 seconds remaining and were at the San Francisco 41 with 14 seconds to go when Prescott took off up the middle intending to slide and spike the ball for a final play.

But Dallas didn’t get the snap off from the 24 until after the clock hit 0:00.

After a brief delay, referee Alex Kemp announced the game was over.

The 49ers overcame an interception by Jimmy Garoppolo when they led by 13 in the fourth quarter.

Prescott ran for a touchdown to get within a score, and had a chance to drive Dallas to a go-ahead score.

But the 49ers got a stop at midfield when Prescott’s desperation fourth-down pass was just out of the receiver Cedrick Wilson’s reach.

After a 14th penalty from the NFL’s most-penalized team in the regular season that helped San Francisco run out most of the clock — and the frantic final seconds as Dallas tried for the win — the 49ers (11-7) clinched their first playoff victory at the Cowboys in a storied postseason rivalry.

Now they head to Tampa Bay for a divisional game, looking for another trip

RETIREMENT AWAITS ROETHLISBERGER AFTER 42-21 LOSS IN KC

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer

SAN Francisco 49ers middle linebacker Fred Warner, left, celebrates with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) after the 49ers defeated the Dallas Cowboys in an NFL wild-card playoff football game in Arlington, Texas, yesterday.

(AP Photo/Roger Steinman) to the NFC championship game. The wait for Dallas (12-6) to get that far in the playoffs will reach at least 27 years after another first-game flameout in the postseason for Prescott, the second in three trips for the star quarterback.

It was his first playoff game since signing a $40-million-a-year contract in the offseason.

The 49ers were in control in the fourth quarter, but not leaning on the running game they figured could carry them to a win when Garoppolo threw an interception to Anthony Brown

RECKLEY FROM PAGE 13

where you gain your strength,” he said. “If more families get involved in the field, and in the lives of their children in the sport of their choice, we will see a positive change in the world. It does a young child wonders to know that they are valued. I encourage parents and family members to support their young ones on and off the field as I am a true testament of this.”

The Giants organisation has had Bahamian talent in its pipeline dating back to Andre Rodgers in the late 1950s, drafted Byron Murray in 2014, signed Lucius Fox in 2015 and Antoan Richardson currently serves as a first base coach at the major league level.

Giants director of international scouting, Joe Salermo, said Reckley’s foundation in addition to his play on the field made him one of the Giants’ top targets for the

that set up Prescott’s 7-yard scoring run.

Garoppolo’s mistake wasn’t long after Prescott was picked off at the Dallas 26 by K’Waun Williams and Samuel ran untouched on a cutback up the middle to the end zone on the next play for a 23-7 lead.

San Francisco lost star pass rusher Nick Bosa to a concussion just before halftime when he was crunched in the head and neck area by teammate D.J. Jones.

But the 49ers kept enough pressure on Prescott, finishing with five sacks while holding the NFL’s No. 1

last few years. “It’s been a pleasure watching Reckley play the last two and-a-half years. It’s also been a pleasure watching some of the Bahamian players. The young generation that’s coming up. The Bahamas is a hotbed for baseball.

From Antoan Richardson, to Jazz Chisholm, to Reckley and to all of these young players coming up,” he said. “This is our second player from The Bahamas we are going to sign and I do want to thank the Reckley family because the foundation they set for Ryan to be successful is so strong. The one common theme from all of our scouts that came out of watching Reckley play was that he was a professional on and off the field and that is a tribute to his family.”

Listed as a 5’10”, 165pound shortstop, Reckley’s scouting grades include Hit: 55, Power: 45, Run: 60, Arm: 50, Field: 55 and Overall: 55 according to MLP Pipeline.

“Overall, he might be a better hitter from the left side than the

offense to 307 yards. San Francisco scored on its first four possessions, but three times settled for field goals from Robbie Gould to help keep the Cowboys close.

Garopollo gave Dallas life later with an overthrow that Brown caught and returned to the San Francisco 28. Prescott scored five plays later.

The Cowboys had all three timeouts after Prescott’s desperate pass to Wilson fell incomplete.

The 49ers got a first down on the second holding penalty by a Dallas defensive lineman on a running play,

right side of the plate, but for now, he shows more power as a righthanded hitter. What’s more, he has the speed to steal bases,” his MLB analysis said. “On defence, he shows good footwork, quick hands, and enough arm strength to stay at shortstop.”

MaxD was established in 2013 and with Greg Burrows Jr as its director, has continued to provide an avenue for players between the ages of 11 to 17 to hone their skills with the view to achieving scholarships or pursuing professional baseball.

Burrows said Reckley’s foundation was a credit to his family and executing the plan.

“We [Burrows and the Reckley family] spent hours on the phone talking about this moment, how we would get there and what we needed to do to get there. I appreciate that you guys listened. This is a complicated process, there’s not one way to do it, but I believe that we came up with a great plan and executed. I want to say to the

and Samuel got all but a few inches needed for a first on a third-and-11 run with a minute remaining.

MONEY KICKER Gould is now the career leader for makes in the playoffs without a miss at 18. Two of his field goals were from at least 50 yards (53, 52).

INJURIES Concussions almost sidelined the best pass rushers for both teams. Before Bosa was injured, standout Dallas rookie Micah Parsons left in the first quarter.

He was evaluated and returned.

parents out there that you’re not going to be able to do it wishy washy or on your own or via a roundabout way. You have to be able to communicate, you have to be able to have integrity in this whole process. That’s the only way these kids can make it all the way.

The support system has to stay consistent from training, from 12 years old, to signing day to the Major Leagues, and the player has to know that that support system has his back. I appreciate Mr and Mrs Reckley and I know Ryan is going to have a great future,” he said.

“Ryan, I think you have been an example to the players coming behind you and even some of the guys that have signed in the past - I believe we need to represent ourselves better.

“I believe we need to carry ourselves like professionals everywhere we go to be able to represent the Bahamas, your family and yourself at a higher level and I believe that is something Ryan has been an example of.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger raised some eyebrows ahead of their wild-card game against the defending AFC champion Chiefs last night when he admitted that “we probably aren’t supposed to be here.”

He wasn’t wrong.

After taking an early lead on T.J. Watt’s fumble return for a touchdown, the Steelers watched Patrick Mahomes effortlessly guide the Chiefs to five consecutive touchdown drives.

So by the time Roethlisberger finally led Pittsburgh past midfield for the first time, midway through the third quarter, the outcome of what’s likely his final game was already decided.

The Chiefs advanced to face Buffalo in the divisional round next Sunday night with a 42-21 blowout of the Steelers.

It was their fourth straight loss in the playoffs — the Steelers’ last win came in the divisional round in Kansas City almost five years ago to the day — and in each of them they trailed by at least 21 points. Two of those defeats came at home when Pittsburgh was a heavy favourite, including a wildcard loss to the Browns last season.

The difference this time? For Roethlisberger, it appears there won’t be a next time.

The six-time Pro Bowl quarterback, who returned the Steelers to prominence with a pair of Super Bowl wins, has made it clear he expects this season to be his last. And if that’s the case, the performance by the 39-year-old Roethlisberger in his 23rd career playoff start — tied for fourth with Joe Montana among all NFL quarterbacks — will be one to forget.

His passes fluttered.

They floated. They certainly lacked the zip they had early in his career.

They also didn’t produce enough offence.

The Steelers went threeand-out on their first three series. They punted on their first seven, a streak only interrupted by Najee Harris losing his first career fumble. Indeed, it wasn’t until there were 6 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter, and the Chiefs already led 35-7, that Roethlisberger even managed to move Pittsburgh past the 50-yard line.

NAUGHTY’S NFL WILD CARD/PLAYOFF PICKS LAST WEEK: 11-5 FINAL REGULAR SEASON RECORD 184-87-1 IT’s the NFL Playoffs, time to separate

the pretenders from the contenders.

• Here’s who I like in this week’s Super Wild Card Round, straight to the point.

SATURDAY 4:25 PM Raiders (5) vs Bengals (4) Raiders come in on a hot streak as do the Bengals.

The Raiders look to continue their improbable run while the Bengals try to shake of their first round woes 1-8 in the Wild Card round, losers of seven

straight. The weather will be a factor in this one, it’s going to be ugly, so give me the Raiders in the upset.

RAIDERS 24 Bengals 23 SATURDAY 8:20 PM Patriots (6) vs Bills (3) The Bills have been the more consistent team of late. Meanwhile young Mr Jones seems to have hit the rookie QB wall. The future is bright in NE under centre, just not on Saturday.

Bills win at home with the more experienced, better QB. BILLS 27 - Patriots 20 SUNDAY 1:00 PM Eagles (7) vs Bucs (2) The weather will be a factor in this one as heavy rains are expected.

That plays to the Eagles strength running the football, coupled with the Bucs defence appearing to be vulnerable against the run as of late.

The upset bird circles, however as long as Brady is under centre the Bucs have a shot.

The Bucs avoid a scare at home.

BUCS 27 - Eagles 24 (OT) Forty - Niners (6) vs Cowboys (3) The Cowboys have taken great offence to the blatant

disrespect shown to them by the media regarding this game.

The time for talking is over.

Cowboys pull away late at home, in Cee Dee Lamb’s coming out party.

COWBOYS 34 Niners 24 SUNDAY 8:15 PM Steelers (7) vs Chiefs (2) Everybody wave goodbye to ‘Big Ben’ !

CHIEFS 38 - Steelers 20 MONDAY 8:15 PM Cardinals (5) vs Rams (4) Big NFC West matchup in this one.

The Cards reversed into the playoffs going 5-6 down the stretch.

The Rams can’t beat good teams.

Coin flip...Rams at home, only because they are home.

RAMS 27 - Cards 24

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, January 17, 2022, PAGE 15

Tom Brady throws for two touchdowns, SB champions dominate Eagles 31-15

By FRED GOODALL AP Sports Writer TAMPA, Florida (AP) — Tom Brady threw for 271 yards and two touchdowns Sunday, helping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers launch their bid for a return to the Super Bowl with a dominating 31-15 NFC wild-card playoff victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

The defending champions set the tempo from the start, with Brady leading a pair of long TD drives in the opening quarter and building the lead to 17-0 by halftime.

The seven-time Super Bowl winner finished off the Eagles with TD passes of 2 yards to Rob Gronkowski and 36 yards to Mike Evans, improving his dazzling playoff record to 35-11 in a record 46 postseason starts.

The Bucs defence did its part, too, intercepting Jalen Hurts twice in the

Philadelphia quarterback’s playoff debut.

“We did some good things,” Brady said.

“I think we’re just going to have to keep doing what we did today. Everyone’s got to touch it, make some explosive plays. Did a good job possessing it, the defense played great, so it was a great team win. Special teams played awesome — one of the best days we had on special teams all year.”

Brady completed 29 of 37 passes without an interception while extending his postseason record for TD passes to 85.

But the Bucs (14-4) had matters well in hand before the reigning Super Bowl MVP found Gronkowski wide open in the middle of the end zone to make it 24-0 midway through the third quarter. The 6-foot-5 Evans punctuated his TD catch for a 31-0 lead with a front flip over the goal line.

The Eagles (9-9) scored on Boston Scott’s 34-yard run and Hurts’ 16-yard TD pass to Kenneth Gainwell in the fourth quarter. A 2-point conversion trimmed Philadelphia’s deficit to 16 with 4:45 remaining, but that was as close as it would get.

Giovani Bernard scored on a 2-yard run and Ke’Shawn Vaughn, a second-year pro filling in for injured running backs Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones, covered the final yard of a 70-yard drive that put the Bucs up 14-0.

Brady led the NFL in passing yards, touchdowns, attempts and completions this season, but Tampa Bay gained the upper hand in this one by running the ball and keeping it away from Hurts and the league’s leading rushing attack.

The Bucs ran 25 plays to Philadelphia’s eight in the first quarter, outgaining the Eagles 137 yards to 17 and

compiling an 11-1 edge in first downs.

It didn’t get much better after that, with a Tampa Bay defence fortified by the return of injured linebackers Lavonte David, Shaquil Barrett and Jason PierrePaul turning away Hurts’ most promising drive of the opening half with Mike Edwards’ end zone interception.

The Eagles won four of their last five games to earn the No. 7 playoff seeding in the NFC, however the turning point in their season came when running the ball became a focal point of the offence during the second half of a 28-22 home loss to the Bucs.

The Eagles ran for at least 130 yards in their next nine games, including seven in a row with more than 175. Hurt led the team with 784 yards and 10 yards rushing, becoming the eighth quarterback in NFL history to throw for more than

TAMPA Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, right, celebrates with wide receiver Mike Evans after Evans caught a touchdown pass against the Philadelphia Eagles during the second half of an NFL wild-card football game yesterday.

(AP Photo/Mark LoMoglio) 3,000 yards and run for over 750. Hurts finished his playoff debut 23 of 43 passing for 258 yards. He ran for a team-high 39 yards on eight attempts, with the Eagles finishing with 95 yards rushing overall — well below their season average of 159.7 per game.

SHORT-HANDED Philadelphia played without defensive end Josh Sweat, who inactive after being admitted to the hospital and undergoing “an emergency procedure” for what the team described as a “life-threatening situation” earlier in the week.

The Eagles released a statement before the game saying Sweat, who tied for the team lead with 7½ sacks this season, was admitted to a hospital last Tuesday night.

“In the following days, Josh and our medical team did everything possible to help him return to play,” the statement said.

“He improved every day, but it was determined by doctors today that he was not quite ready. The fact that Josh came so close to playing is a credit to his toughness and our medical staff.”

Patriots, Jones end season with a dud in 47-17 loss to Bills

By JONAH BRONSTEIN Associated Press ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — After gaining so much ground during Mac Jones’ rookie season, the New England Patriots faltered at the finish.

Throttled 47-17 by the Buffalo Bills in a wild-card playoff game on Saturday night, the loss showed how much progress the Patriots still need to make to close the gap on their AFC East rivals.

“Losing is terrible,” Jones said. “None of us wanted to do that tonight. But there’s nothing we can do about it now. There’s a lot to look forward to and positive and learn from.”

Jones and the Patriots made strides turning around their season following a 2-4 start, putting together a seven-game win streak to make the playoffs for the first time in two seasons since Tom Brady left New England for Tampa Bay. But their progress stalled after a 14-10 win at Buffalo

in Week 13 put them atop the division standings. The Patriots struggled coming out of their bye week, losing three of four, before suffering their worst postseason defeat since a 46-10 loss to the 1985 Chicago Bears.

The loss was the most lopsided in the playoffs during Bill Belichick’s tenure, which began in 2000, and second-worst overall after Buffalo opened the 2003 season with a 31-0 victory.

Suddenly, the tables have begun turning on a proud Patriots franchise which won 17 division titles and six Super Bowls under Belichick, and was 35-5 against Buffalo from 2000 to 2019.

New England has now dropped four of the last five meetings with Buffalo, which has staked its claim to the division by winning two straight titles.

The Bills dominated the Patriots in this one, much like they were once dominated by New England.

Buffalo became the NFL’s first team to score touchdowns on each of its seven possessions not ending with

NEW England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (10) runs off the field at halftime of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Buffalo Bills, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Joshua Bessex) a kneeldown. And the 47 points scored were the most against a Belichick-coached Patriots team.

“Shoot, every drive we couldn’t get a stop was frustrating,” New England linebacker Matthew Judon said. “It wasn’t only one

drive. It wasn’t only one play. It wasn’t one single player. It was everything. It was the whole game.”

The struggles carried over from the final weeks of the season.

“If I could, I would’ve done everything to try

to get it turned around,” defensive captain Devin McCourty said. “Going from a team that was 2-4, just fighting, trying to get back to being the team that was atop the AFC at one point. You have to execute at a high level once that happens. And we didn’t, for whatever reasons. We’ll have a lot of time to think about that.”

Jones was the first rookie quarterback to start a playoff game for the Patriots.

He finished 24 of 38 passing for 232 yards with two touchdowns, and was intercepted twice while taking two sacks.

“We didn’t have a chance to win the game, and it starts with me,” Jones said.

“Just getting momentum early, and not putting ourselves in that position.”

The Patriots fell to 4-7 this season when failing to score first and 2-7 when going scoreless in the first quarter.

“Embarrassing,” was how McCourty characterised the effort from the Patriots defence. “We really

shouldn’t perform like that.”

Whatever momentum the the Patriots’ offence generated was snuffed out by turnovers. Jones was intercepted by Micah Hyde on a deep pass to Nelson Agholor in the end zone on New England’s first possession. And he had a tipped pass picked off by Levi Wallace on the opening drive of the second half.

“I can make a better throw,” Jones said. “Our goal was not to turn the ball over. And it happened.

That’s just a part of the game, I guess. But it’s something I can learn from.”

Jones vowed that he and the Patriots will come back better next season.

“I always related it back to being a pilot,” he said.

“If you are a pilot and you have only flown so many times, when you have hundreds of flight hours, it’s just an everyday thing for you. For me, obviously I was a rookie, and I played like that sometimes. And I shouldn’t have. I can play better.”

BENGALS HOLD ON, FINALLY WIN IN PLAYOFFS, 26-19 OVER RAIDERS

By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer CINCINNATI (AP) — Paul Brown Stadium nearly shook in triumph. The city of Cincinnati might have, too.

Its latest hero, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, merely seemed to shrug after leading his team to its first playoff victory in 31 years, 26-19 over Las Vegas on Saturday in an AFC wild-card game.

“It’s exciting for the city, for the state, but we are not going to dwell on that, we are moving forward,” said Burrow, who threw two touchdown passes. “This is expected, this isn’t like the icing on top of the cake, this is the cake. So we are moving on.”

Burrow led an efficient offence that scored on six drives, Evan McPherson became the first rookie to make four field goals without a miss in a postseason debut, and Germaine Pratt sealed it with a fourth-down interception in the dying seconds.

It was a victory three decades in the making for the Bengals (11-7). After going from worst to first in the AFC North with a generally young roster, they ended that embarrassingly long postseason drought that included eight consecutive defeats.

“Who Dey” indeed.

Coach Zac Taylor said game balls were going to team owner Mike Brown and to the city itself.

“Some of them might not

understand the significance of what happened today,” he said of his players. “The city can finally enjoy ... this team and take the pressure off of the last 31 years.

Today was significant for a lot of people.”

Their next opponent will depend on results in the other two AFC wild-card games this weekend.

“It’s going to be fun tomorrow to watch the games knowing we have the win,” said Burrow, the top overall selection in the 2020 draft who led the NFL in completion percentage this season. He went 24 for 34 for 244 yards Saturday.

Helped by some problematic officiating by Jerome Boger’s crew that might have allowed Burrow’s touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd to count when it shouldn’t have, the Bengals also extended a lengthy postseason drought for the Raiders (10-8). Las Vegas, which won its final four games to squeeze into the playoffs, last won in the postseason in the 2002 AFC championship game.

Cincinnati made it 4 for 4 on scoring drives late in the first half, though with some controversy. Burrow rolled right to avoid pressure and threw from close to the sideline. Play continued despite an erroneous whistle by an official, who thought Burrow stepped out of bounds. Boyd caught the 10-yard pass in the back of the end zone for a 20-6 lead. The play counted, to protests from the Raiders, who cited the rule that the

CINCINNATI Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase (1) makes a catch against Las Vegas Raiders’ Desmond Trufant (10) during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game on Saturday in Cincinnati.

(AP Photo/Jeff Dean) ball should be returned to the previous spot.

And Las Vegas lost by seven points.

“We just ran out of time today,” said interim coach Rich Bisaccia. “We did some uncharacteristic things with some penalties and gave up some drives and didn’t capitalise when we had it in the red zone at times. So it just didn’t go our way today.”

Daniel Carlson, the league’s top scorer, made a 47-yard field goal on the game’s opening possession,

and the Bengals countered.

And kept scoring, though mostly field goals. Burrow took Cincinnati 75 yards in 10 plays, connecting with C.J. Uzomah in the front of the end zone from the 7 to make it 7-3. Burrow threw for 65 yards on the drive and Uzomah celebrated his score with the Ickey Shuffle.

Then the Bengals’ defence stepped up with their sacks leader, T rey Hendrickson, stripping Carr of the ball. Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi rumbled 11

yards with it to the Raiders 10, but Las Vegas held and McPherson made a 31-yard field goal.

The mistakes kept coming for the visitors.

Peyton Barber touched a botched kickoff heading out of bounds at the Raiders 2, putting them in a hole.

All-Pro punter A.J. Cole got off a 58-yarder, but Trent Taylor’s 14-yard return set up Cincinnati once more in prime position.

Ja’Marr Chase, who had nine receptions for 116

yards, kept victimising the Raiders, his 38-yard reception getting the Bengals to the 6. McPherson made a 30-yarder for a 13-3 lead. It soon was 13-6 on Carlson’s 28-yard field goal.

Then came Boyd’s TD, followed by an impressive two-minute drill covering 80 yards for Las Vegas, capped by Carr’s 14-yard pass to Zay Jones that made it 20-13. McPherson, a fifthround draft pick last April, made two more second-half field goals, as did Carlson.

Carr finished 29 of 54 for 310 yards.

The crowd of 66,277 fans hungry for some playoff gold had to hold their breath before getting it.

“I think Germaine has made a really big step this year, Taylor said. “I thought last year was a good step, I think this year he has made a tremendous jump. Super reliable for us.”

INJURIES Raiders: LB Divine Deablo (concussion) left in the second quarter moments after being beaten

by Uzomah on a 29-yard pass play. DT Quinton Jefferson hurt his foot. CB Brandon Facyson left with a concussion.

Bengals: DT Mike Daniels injured his groin in the first quarter and did not return.

Ogunjobi was carted off early in the third period with a foot injury. Hendrickson went out with a concussion in the third quarter. They finished with just two healthy defensive tackles.

PAGE 16, Monday, January 17, 2022

AYTON LEAVES WITH SPRAINED ANKLE, SUNS ROUT PISTONS DETROIT (AP) — Devin Booker scored 30 points and JaVale McGee added 20 in their Michigan homecomings to help the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns rout the Detroit Pistons 135-108 yesterday.

Booker, from Grand Rapids, made 11 of his first 14 shots from the field. He said he had 40-50 friends and family at the game after having numerous guests when the Suns played in Indiana on Friday night.

McGee, from Flint, also had a large contingent of family and friends at the game. He was 9 for 10, taking over after Suns starting centre DeAndre Ayton left in the first quarter because of a sprained ankle.

Cameron Payne also had 20 points for Phoenix, shooting 8 of 12. The Suns have won the first three games on their four-game trip and six of seven to improve to 33-9. The are an NBA-best 16-4 on the road.

Pistons rookie Cade Cunningham had 21 points before being ejected in the third quarter. Cory Joseph also had 21 points for Detroit.

THE TRIBUNE

‘Buddy’ Hield scores 27, but Rockets hold off Kings 118-112

By MICHAEL WAGAMAN Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif (AP) — Christian Wood had 23 points and 14 rebounds, Eric Gordon made a clutch bucket with 12.5 seconds remaining and the Houston Rockets held off the Sacramento Kings 118-112 last night.

Kevin Porter Jr added 23 points and seven assists for the Rockets. Garrison Mathews scored 17, while Eric Gordon and Jalen Green had 15 points apiece.

Chavano “Buddy” Hield scored 27 points for Sacramento, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter.

Terence Davis had 17 points, and De’Aaron Fox added 14 points before getting ejected in the fourth after getting called for a Flagrant 2.

The Rockets, who lost to the Kings 126-114 on Friday, trailed going into the fourth but took control with an 18-5 run.

Mathews had eight points during the run, including a four-point play,

Durant sprains left knee in Nets’ victory over Pelicans NEW YORK (AP) — James Harden had 27 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds and the Brooklyn Nets cruised to a 120105 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night despite losing Kevin Durant in the first half to a left knee sprain.

Durant was hurt with 5:44 left in the second quarter when New Orleans forward Herbert Jones was driving down the court and crashed into Nets backup guard Bruce Brown, who fell backward into Durant’s knee.

NUGGETS 133, LAKERS 96 DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 17 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds for his eighth tripledouble of the season and Denver routed Los Angeles.

Rookie Bones Hyland had career highs of 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Jeff Green scored a season-high 26 points in Denver’s second straight blowout victory.

RAPTORS 103, BUCKS 96 MILWAUKEE (AP) — Pascal Siakam had 30 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his second career triple-double and Toronto

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer

SACRAMENTO Kings guard Chavano “Buddy” Hield (24) is guarded by Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon (10) and forward Jae’Sean Tate (8).

(AP Photo/Randall Benton) moments after he crashed to the court following the hard foul by Fox. After Sacramento got within 114-112 with 47.8 seconds remaining, Green grabbed an offensive rebound and fed it low to Gordon who scored. Porter added two free throws. The Rockets jumped out to a fast

overcame an early 15-point deficit to beat cold-shooting Milwaukee.

OG Anunoby added 24 points to help the Raptors improve to 3-0 this season against the defending champion Bucks, who shot a season low 33.8%. Toronto has won five straight in the series.

CELTICS 114, BULLS 112 BOSTON (AP) — Robert Williams hit a pair of free throws with 9.7 seconds left and Boston scored the final eight points to edge Chicago.

Williams, who tied it at 112 with two foul shots with 31 seconds to go, finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Boston rallied after trailing 112-106 with 1:57 to play.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Jaylen Brown scored 19 points, Nikola Vucevic had 27 points for Chicago.

KNICKS 117, HAWKS 108 ATLANTA (AP) — RJ Barrett scored 26 points, Julius Randle added 24 and New York beat Atlanta for its third straight victory.

The Knicks improved to 22-21, the first time they’ve been over .500 since Dec. 2. They have

start and led 13-0 and 21-5 before the Kings got going. After Barnes’ 3-pointer cut Houston’s lead to one, Chimezie Metu sank a corner 3 that gave the Kings their first lead.

Fox later connected on a short jumper and Barnes made a free throw

won five of six, but began the night in 10th place in the Eastern Conference.

76ERS 109, HEAT 98 MIAMI (AP) — Joel Embiid scored 25 of his 32 points in the second half and Philadelphia beat Miami.

Listed as questionable to play because of right elbow soreness, Embiid helped the 76ers outscore Miami 66-48 in the final two periods.

MAVERICKS 108, MAGIC 92 DALLAS (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis scored 12 of his 19 points in the first quarter of his first game in two weeks and the Dallas cruised past Orlando.

The 7-foot-3 Latvian was sharp from the start after missing seven games because of COVID-19.

Porzingis hit four of five shots in the opening quarter, capped by a 3-pointer that barely beat the buzzer.

TRAIL BLAZERS 115, WIZARDS 110 WASHINGTON (AP) — Anfernee Simons scored 31 points and tied a career high with 11 assists, Jusuf Nurkic had 23 points and 14 rebounds and Portland beat

after Eric Gordon’s technical to put Sacramento ahead 60-55. The Kings fell behind in the third but closed the quarter on a 13-4 run.

UP NEXT Rockets: Face the Jazz in Utah on Wednesday.

Kings: Host the Pistons on Wednesday.

Washington. Simons had 26 points in the first half, hitting seven 3-pointers.

SPURS 101, CLIPPERS 94 SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Derrick White had 19 points in his return from a five-game absence, Dejounte Murray added 18 points and San Antonio beat Los Angeles to snap a five-game skid.

White was 7 for 11 from the field after sitting out in the NBAs health and safety protocols.

Amir Coffey had 20 points, and Marcus Morris Sr added 15 points for the Clippers.

CAVALIERS 106, THUNDER 102 OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Darius Garland had 27 points and a career-high 18 assists and Cleveland overcame an 18-point deficit to beat Oklahoma City for its fourth straight victory.

Lauri Markkanen made a 3-pointer with 11.4 seconds remaining to secure the victory, Cleveland’s fifth on a six-game, nine-day trip.

Garland tied Phoenix’s Chris Paul for the most assists in a game this season. Evan Mobley added 20 points, and Jarrett Allen had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

DJOKOVIC LEAVES AUSTRALIA BUT DEBATE GOES ON IN VACCINE SAGA

By FELICIA FONSECA Associated Press AUSTRALIA made its decision, but opinion remains divided worldwide on Novak Djokovic and whether he should have been allowed to compete in the Australian Open despite not being vaccinated against COVID-19.

At a tennis centre in Phoenix yesterday, employee Stan Taylor said the lobby was abuzz with just one question as players arrived: “What do you think about Novak Djokovic?”

There was no consensus on whether the No. 1 men’s player had tried to game the system in seeking an exemption to Australia’s strict vaccination rules or had the right to defend his title at the Open. In the

JONES

FROM PAGE 13

second in 8.42 seconds, while Bahamas Academy graduate Gabrielle Gibson, now in her senior year, trailed in third in 8.55.

Adidas Cindy Sember won the race in 8.19.

In the preliminaries, Gibson had the third fastest qualifying time in 8.50 with Cartwright fifth in 8.61.8.55.

The duo came back in the 200m with Gibson getting the edge in 10th in 24.92, while Cartwright got 11th in 25.17.

The other member of the Bahamian connection at Oral Roberts, junior Lakelle Kinteh had to settle for 27th place overall in the preliminaries of the women’s 60m.

Kinteh, another St Augustine’s College graduate, also contested the

end, the country’s immigration minister revoked his visa on public interest grounds, and Djokovic was deported yesterday.

Taylor said he knows Djokovic has favoured unconventional approaches all his life, but he wanted to see the tennis star display leadership in the polarising COVID-19 vaccine debate.

“I love to watch him do battle,” said Taylor, who lives in Phoenix and has closely followed the saga.

“I’ve watched him snatch victory from the mouth of defeat. .... So he loves the game, but this thing was not something to get on the soapbox about. He chose the wrong fight, and he lost.”

Djokovic received an exemption to vaccination rules to play in the Australian Open, based on a

women’s long jump, but she fouled out.

Oral Roberts will be back in action on Saturday, January 21 at the Deloss Dodds Invitational in Manhattan, Kansas before they compete in their final meet this month at the Jayhawk Classic on Friday, January 28 in Lawrence, Kansas.

Curry makes presence felt At the Badgers B1G Ten Midwest Invite at the Gately Indoor Track in Chicago, Illinois, Ohio State’s freshman Adrian Curry clocked 6.76 for third place in the men’s 60m final.

Wisconsin’s junior Lawrence Johnson won the race in 6.70, the same time as Ohio State’s junior Tyler Johnson as both competitors along with Curry ran under the facility record of 6.77. In the preliminaries, Curry had the second fastest time of 6.80.

REAL MADRID TOPS ATHLETIC 2-0 TO WIN SPANISH SUPER CUP

previous coronavirus infection. But upon arrival, border officials said the exemption was not valid and moved to deport him — sparking a 10-day legal battle and an ongoing political drama.

Djokovic has overwhelming support from his home country of Serbia, whose president said Australia embarrassed itself and urged his countryman to return where he would be welcomed.

The tennis player has also been held up as a hero by some in the anti-vaccine movement. One protester raised a poster in support of the tennis star at a rally in the Netherlands on Sunday.

Others were quick to criticise. One of Italy’s greatest tennis players, Adriano Panatta, called

ADRIAN CURRY Curry also moved up to the 300m where he struggled to place 17th in 36.36.

The winning time was 32.55

by Tyler Johnson.

Curry, also a St Augustine’s College graduate, is expected to be back in action for the Buckeyes at the South Carolina Challenge over the weekend of January 21-22 in Columbia, South Carolina before they end the month at the

Djokovic’s expulsion from Australia “the most natural epilogue of this affair.”

“I don’t see how Australia could have granted the visa. He committed big errors, he created an international case when he could have done without that,” Panatta said to the Italian news agency LaPresse.

French tennis player Alize Cornet, meanwhile, expressed sympathy while reserving judgment.

“I know too little to judge the situation,” she posted on Twitter. “What I know is that Novak is always the first one to stand up for the players.

But none of us stood for him. Be strong.”

British player Andy Murray said he hoped that such a situation wouldn’t be repeated at the next

tournament. At this stage, Djokovic could still play in the next Grand Slam tournament, the French Open in May-June — if virus rules don’t change before then.

Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu confirmed earlier this month that Djokovic would qualify for a “health bubble” that allows unvaccinated players to train and play.

The same could be true for Wimbledon. England has allowed exemptions from various coronavirus regulations for visiting athletes, if they remain at their accommodation when not competing or training. The US Tennis Association, which runs the US Open, has said it will follow whatever rules are set out by the federal, state and local governments when it comes to vaccination status.

SASHA WELLS

JAIDA KNOWLES

Rod McCrary Memorial in Lexington, Kentucky from January 28-29.

Wells makes her transition After starring for Oral Roberts University as a sprinter/hurdler, Sasha Wells has transferred to the University of Florida where she made her debut for the Gators in the women’s 60m hurdles at the Clemson Invite at the Clemson

Track and Field Complex in Clemson, South Carolina.

Wells, who joins Bahamian Olympic quarter-miler Donesha Anderson on the Gators’ roster, was 13th in 8.41 for the tenth all-time in Florida’s history, but it wasn’t good enough to get her into the final.

Anderson, a junior at Florida, competed in the 300m where she was 11th overall in 38.80.

MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid won’t be going a second consecutive season without a title.

After failing to lift a trophy under Zinedine Zidane last season, Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid secured the Spanish Super Cup with a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao yesterday in Saudi Arabia.

Luka Modric and Karim Benzema scored a goal in each half of the final as Madrid comfortably defeated the defending champions to reinforce its status as the top team in Spain this season.

Madrid has already beaten Barcelona twice — including in the Super Cup semifinals — and Atlético Madrid once, and is more than 15 points ahead of both rivals halfway through the Spanish league season.

Ancelotti has also led Madrid to the knockout stage of the Champions League.

Madrid went without a trophy for the first time in more than a decade last season under Zidane.

“This is motivation for us to keep going,” Ancelotti said. “We have to keep competing like this.”

Madrid’s 12th Super Cup title moves the club only one behind Barcelona, the competition’s most successful team. Athletic was seeking its fourth Super Cup trophy.

It was Madrid’s second Super Cup title since the competition was moved to Saudi Arabia in 2020. It had won the first edition of the tournament in the Middle East country by beating Atlético in the final.

The Super Cup returned to Spain in 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Spanish soccer federation has had to defend itself from criticism from human rights groups for its decision to play in Saudi Arabia in a deal reportedly worth 30 million euros ($34 million) a year through 2029.

Athletic was seeking its second consecutive title after defeating Barcelona in last year’s final. It beat Atlético in this year’s semifinal in the revamped “Final Four” format.

Modric opened the scoring with a curling shot into the top corner after being set up by forward Rodrygo just inside the area in the 38th minute.

Benzema added to the lead by converting a 51st-minute penalty kick after a handball determined by video review.

Athletic had a chance to move closer in the final minutes but Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois saved Raúl García’s penalty kick with his left foot.

Madrid defender Éder Militão was sent off for the handball that prompted the penalty. “We could have gotten back into the game but Courtois ended our chances with that save,” Athletic defender Óscar de Marcos said.

Running a split of 53.88 on the third leg on the women’s 4 x 400m relay team, Anderson helped Florida to the victory in 3:33.11.

The other members of the team were Taylor Manson, Sterling Lester and Vanessa Watson.

Anderson, another graduate of St Augustine’s College, is coming off an appearance on the women’s 4 x 400m relay at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, although they didn’t get to complete the race.

Wells, Anderson and shot put/discus thrower Serena Brown, who did not compete over the weekend, are expected to be back in action for the Gators at the Bob Pollock Meet at the Clemson Track and Field Complex in Clemson, South Carolina. The event is set to be held over the weekend of January 28-29.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, January 17, 2022, PAGE 17

MOTIA welcomes golfers to Great Exuma Classic – PGA Korn Ferry Tour

By Lindsay Thompson EXUMA, The Bahamas – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments & Aviation Chester Cooper welcomed over 100 participants to the Great Exuma Classic/PGA Korn Ferry Tour, as the country rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minister Cooper underscored the importance of the prestigious event held at the award-winning golf course at Sandals Emerald Bay resort, during the opening ceremony on Friday, January 14.

“Thank you for your loyal and committed partnership and the value that PGA Tour continues to bring to our tourism product. I would like to express appreciation for the partnership with ESPN whose coverage of the Great Exuma Classic will once again display The Bahamas to millions around the world,” said the minister.

He also commended the event organiser Charles Hamrick, senior director/ tournament business and sponsor relations, Korn

Ferry Tour, and other partners Brooks Downing and Josh Franklyn from BD Global Marketing Group, “for affording our destination another opportunity to host these most prestigious Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) championships.”

“I believe that timing is everything. PGA Tour has returned at a time when The Bahamas is engaged in recovery efforts to bring restoration to its economy, in the face of an unrelenting pandemic,” the minister said.

The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour-sanctioned Korn Ferry event played at Sandals Emerald Bay Golf Course. The event was first held in January 2017, and again this year, despite the challenges of the COVID19 pandemic, noted the minister.

The event attracts the PGA Tour and more than 100 professional golfers from Korn Ferry Tour, along with caddies, families, friends and golf enthusiasts.

According to the minister,

Australia beats England by 146 runs, completes 4-0 Ashes victory HOBART, Australia (AP) — Australia completed a dominant 4-0 Ashes series victory over England yesterday by winning the fifth day-night test by 146 runs with two days to spare.

England, set a target of 271 for victory, crashed to 124 all out in the last session on the third day at Hobart, losing 10 wickets for 56 after Zak Crawley (36) and Rory Burns (26) combined in the best opening stand of the series by putting on 68 runs.

Fast bowlers Scott Boland (3-18) and Cameron Green (3-21) made an impact in their first Ashes series by sharing six wickets on a lively greenish wicket as England crumbled against pace for the second time in the match after being dismissed for 188 in the first innings in reply to Australia’s score of 303.

Australia skipper Pat Cummins also had an impact in his second spell to finish with 3-42 on an eventful day that saw 17 wickets tumble for the second successive day in the game.

Cummins, who grabbed the last two wickets off three balls, led from the front in his first series as Australia captain and grabbed 21 wickets.

“It’s pretty crazy, even as a professional cricketer

MARLINS FROM PAGE 13

weekends with me and I thank you for that. One thing I can say is that we got it from the bottom.”

I-Elite was founded by directors Geron Sands and Albert Cartwright. It provides an avenue for players between the ages of 11 and 17 years an opportunity to hone their skills with the view of playing at the professional level.

“I want to say congratulations to everyone that signed today. It is tough, it is a long journey, countless hours and these guys have been in a tremendous amount of work - not just on the field but in the classroom as well,” Sands said.

“The Marlins have been good to The Bahamas. I think they have bought into what we bring and I cannot say thank you enough to you guys for believing in this talent, wanting to be in this market and giving so many young Bahamians an opportunity. It takes great determination, it’s knowing what you want and these guys knew what they wanted from the age of 11-12. They stuck with it and did what they had to do the entire time.”

these are the series you have in your diary a couple of years out,” said Cummins.

“Really feels like we are building to something big.

To have someone like Cameron Green in his second year to grow as a batter and bowler as well as some of the younger players … can’t wait to show our wares overseas, we really judge ourselves in all conditions.”

Earlier, Australia was bowled out for 155 just after the dinner break for an overall lead of 270 runs after it resumed from an overnight 37-3.

England paceman Mark Wood snared 6-37, utilising short-ball tactics against the Australians to perfection.

Alex Carey top-scored for Australia with 49 after getting two reprieves.

“We’ve been outplayed in all areas and credit to Australia,” said England captain Joe Root, who remained the tourists’ lone fighter with 322 runs, behind only Travis Head (357) and Marnus Labuschagne (335) who led the home side.

“We’ve played good cricket in parts, just not been able to structure a whole game together… it’s pretty obvious we need to be putting more runs on the board (and) too often we’ve not given our bowlers enough to work.”

Sands said both players have positive attributes to bring to the Marlins organisation.

“Toby is electric, powerful, brings it everyday, he will run through a wall for you, he will do whatever he has to do to get that fly ball or to get on base. He works hard, he’s a machine,” Sands said. “Cherif is a shortstop.

Those guys [Chisholm and Lewis] I have to watch out for because I really and truly believe he’s going to be a starting shortstop.”

Adrian Puig, Miami Marlins international crosschecker, said his organisation will continue to explore The Bahamas for its rich talent pool.

“It’s been a mutually beneficial relationship. I believe this is still only the beginning of some real growth of baseball in The Bahamas.

It’s been growing really fast and is going to keep growing,” he said. “We’re excited to have these two athletic, dynamic players with the Marlins officially.

It’s no secret, we’re going to continue to come back here and are going to try and be here every single year.

We’re excited for iElite and are excited for your country.”

CHESTER COOPER, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments & Aviation gives remarks at the welcome reception for the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic.

Photos: Kemuel Stubbs/BIS Sandals Emerald Bay is an date, to support local and Tour’s sustainability efforts excellent host, as he invited global organisations. that drive positive change guests to take advantage of “The Ministry of Tour- and commend you on your amenities offered designed ism, Investments & environmental stewardto create an unforgettable Aviation is pleased to ship to local communities exotic getaway. partner with PGA Tour in with an aim for zero waste, He also encouraged executing initiatives that among others. guests to explore Exuma, effect positive change in “Your most impreswhich boasts some of the our communities,” said the sive PGA Tour schedule most beautiful waters on minister. indicates that these compeearth, and a sanctuary He then congratulated titions will be intense and where nature is preserved the organisers of the PGA highly engaging. I believe at its pristine best.

Tour for their generous that each of you will shine He said he was advised philanthropic outreach sup- as you capitalise on your that the PGA Tour and its ported by their network many hours of training and tournaments have donated of volunteers. Added the practice,” according to the more than $3.2 billion to minister: “I applaud PGA minister.

KOHLI STEPS DOWN AS INDIA TEST CAPTAIN VIRAT Kohli has stepped down as captain of India’s test team after seven years in the position.

KOHLI Kohli led the team for 68 matches and won 40 of them, making him India’s most successful test captain.

He made his decision Saturday in the wake of India losing a test series in South Africa 2-1.

“I have always believed in giving my 120 percent in everything I do, and if I can’t do that, I know it’s not the right thing to do,” Kohli said in a post on Twitter. “I have absolute clarity in my heart and I cannot be dishonest to my team.”

The BCCI thanked Kohli for his “admirable leadership qualities that took the test team to unprecedented heights.”

PAGE 18, Monday, January 17, 2022

THE TRIBUNE

‘Pure Athletics’ stars hit track

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net WHILE she cherishes every opportunity she gets to return home, “Golden Girl” Shaunae Miller-Uibo said there’s no better gratification for her to be able to do it with some of her training partners in Pure Athletics Track Club.

Miller-Uibo was joined by her husband, Estonia’s decathlete Maicel Uibo, British long jumper Jazmin Sawyers, American sprinter Lynna Irby and Trinidad & Tobago’s sprinter Khalifa St Fort, along with Pure Athletics’ founder and head coach Lance Brauman.

The group spent the past week in town, wrapping up their training session on Friday at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium. During her visit,

Miller-Uibo also got a chance to return to school at her alma mater at St Augustine’s College where she and teammates interacted with the faculty and staff without any students present because of their virtual classes.

“We had a lot of fun. We got a lot of sun. It was a bit windy at first, but things turned out really nice at the end,” Miller-Uibo said.

For Miller-Uibo, the trip here from their training base in Clermont, Florida, provided her with the opportunity to show her teammates where she came from, mixing some training with some sight-seeing.

“This time of the year, it’s a pretty tough time of training. We’re just getting in our last bit of base training,” she said. “Today was pretty tough, but we got through it and we had a lot of fun,

PURE Athletics Track Club members take part in a training session at the TAR National Stadium on Friday.

Photos: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff so we’re excited about the another exciting year to upcoming season.” look forward to.

Coming off her repeat “The goal is always to get gold-medal performance better each year,” Millerin the women’s 400 metres Uibo said. “But we’re in a lifetime best of 47.36 taking it one step at a time. seconds in the delayed The main goal is to stay 2020 Tokyo Olympics last healthy. If we do, we can August, Miller-Uibo said expect some great things her training has been going this year.” great and if that’s any indiHaving had a successcation, 2022 should be ful run in the 400m, but still missing that elusive gold medal at the World Championships after her efforts were thwarted by suspended Bahrain’s champion Salwa Eid Naser in 2019 in Doha, Qatar, Miller-Uibo said she’s preparing for another shot at the top of the podium in Eugene, Oregon, for this year’s championships from August 6-15.

“The plan is to do World Indoors, but we will take it one step at a time,” MillerUibo revealed. “If we do World Indoors, we will go for the title in the 400m.

That’s pretty much the plan indoors. Then outdoors, we want to go for the 400m title in Oregon.

“I think I’ve had a great career so far. I can’t complain. I just want to continue to have some fun and do my best and to see how far that will take me.

I think I’ve accomplished a lot, but the world record would be nice. But for me, it’s just about having fun.”

Having lowered her Bahamian and North American, Central American and Caribbean area records to 48.36 in winning the gold in Tokyo, just under her previous mark of 48.37 she posted for her

SHOWN, left to right, are Bahamian sprinter Shaunae Miller-Uibo, British long jumper Jazmin Sawyers and Trinidadian sprinter Khalifa St Fort.

silver behind Naser (48.14), Miller-Uibo said she would like to take a crack at the world record of 47.60 that was set by Marita Koch of East Germany on October 5, 1985, in Canberra, Australia.

The 27-year-old MillerUibo currently sits in sixth place on the all-time list of performers in the women’s one-lap race, which gives her the incentive to believe that the record is attainable, once she can break the 48-second barrier with only one other competitor to achieve the feat in Czechoslovakia’s Jamila Kratochvilova, who ran the second fastest time ever of 47.99 on August 10, 1983 in Helsinki, Finland.

Whether she does it not, Miller-Uibo said she will definitely give it her best shot. The towering 6-foot, one-inch Miller-Uibo said she’s been inspired by her international teammates, who look up to her for their leadership. She noted that while she doesn’t have a favourite, she feels they are all amazing.

“I’m so excited to see the progress all of them have been making,” she insisted with a chuckle. “I think everyone is going to be able to put down some exciting times, so I really can’t wait to see them all compete.”

With the hospitality that they have all received during their stay at Breezes SuperClubs, in expressing her appreciation for their support to her teammates, Miller-Uibo said she hopes that after another gold medal performance in Oregon, hopefully she can return home to celebrate again.

And there would be no better way to do it than with her teammates coming back to the Bahamas for another visit on the island and at her alma mater at St Augustine’s College and training camp at the TAR Stadium.

While her teammates are expected to leave town today, Miller-Uibo and her husband are scheduled to head out on Tuesday.