05022024 NEWS AND SPORT

‘POOREST PAY THE MOST FOR ELECTRIC’

Minister talks of more equitable rates - but no details on BPL plans

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Chief Reporter

Tribune

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

ENERGY and Transport Minister JoBeth ColebyDavis suggested that Bahamas Power and Light’s tariff rates could be made more equitable, saying the “least able to pay” are currently “paying more than large businesses.”

She noted that BPL’s base tariff has not changed since 2010 and that a review of the power company’s rates is underway to determine effective prices and classifications. She did not give insight into the administration’s reported plan to separate BPL’s generation,

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said Kenya is expected to begin deploying troops to Haiti on May 26.

The date could put local Defence Force officers expected to join the multinational force to stabilise Haiti on alert, though Mr Mitchell said he could not give a timeline. A transitional council installed last week to help bring political stability to Haiti after Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned, chose Fritz Bélizaire to be prime minister. Mr Bélizaire was Haiti’s sports

JURY DISMISSED OVER A POLITICAL CONNECTION

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A JUDGE dismissed the jury in North Abaco MP Kirk Cornish’s rape trial yesterday after learning that a juror had a close relationship with the leader of the opposition, Michael Pintard. Reporters were not

allowed in the court when the jury was empanelled on Monday, so it is unclear what was asked and discussed before the jury was confirmed. Whether the press is allowed to observe and report on the jury selection process is up to the discretion of the judge.

Justice Renae McKay set

JOHNSON SET TO CHALLENGE DUANE

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Yamacraw

MP Elsworth Johnson said he has nominated himself for chairman of the Free National Movement, setting up a clash with incumbent Dr Duane Sands at the party’s upcoming convention. Mr Johnson declined to directly say whether he has the support of FNM leader Michael Pintard.

“Knowing the leader, he supports the rich

TRIAL BY JUDGE ALONE BILL TABLED FOR DEBATE

WEEKS after current and former chief justices called for more bench trials, the Davis administration tabled a bill in the House of Assembly yesterday that would allow people to be tried by a judge alone for indictable offences, a potentially significant change to the country’s judicial system.

The Trial by Judge Alone Bill, 2024, lets accused people waive their constitutional right to a jury trial

Abaco MP Kirk Cor-

Photo: Dante Carrer

GOVERNOR General Dame Cynthia “Mother” Pratt pictured outside Buckingham Palace yesterday after meeting King Charles III and being made a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George, with the honour bestowed by Princess Anne. Photo: Copyright of Andrew Owen/Country Special Reports Ltd (UK)

Man in custody for arson while fires continue to burn in Abaco

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

CENTRAL and South Abaco MP John Pinder and police officials said a man is in custody for allegedly starting a raging fire in Marsh Harbour last week. The man is expected to be arraigned today.

Mr Pinder said there are two ongoing fires on Abaco, one in Spring City and the other in Marsh Harbour near the government’s clinic. Some

residents tried to temporarily relocate from their homes due to health concerns.

He said the fire endangering houses in Spring City is under investigation.

“The Marsh Harbour Fire Department, as well as the residents, are doing their best to keep it off the homes,” he told reporters outside the House of Assembly.

Mr Pinder said he is working to get a 40ft firebreak around Spring City.

“I believe the fire departments across our nation are

limited in what they have, particularly in Abaco,” he said. “It’s all a volunteer service in every community, and more fire trucks and more fire hydrants are definitely needed to mitigate the impact of these fires.”

Mr Pinder expects more fires as the summer approaches and is troubled by the arson report.

A thick smoke has been engulfing Spring City, amplifying health concerns. Volunteer firefighters tackled four blazes in Abaco recently.

FOREST fire burns near a residence in Marsh Harbour, Abaco, over the weekend. Fires continue to impact residents while police have a suspected arsonist in custody.

‘Poorest pay the most for electric’

transmission and distribution elements through partnerships with private companies during yesterday’s House of Assembly debate on the Electricity Bill 2024 and Natural Gas Bill 2024.

The quick release and passage of the major bills confirmed the administration is pursuing significant plans.

Mrs Coleby-Davis said the country has grown since BPL’s tariff rates were last adjusted.

“With this growth comes an increase in demand, and at all times, BPL must find means and ways to provide access to electricity, with annual forecasted demand growth at a steady three to five per cent annually,” she said. “There is an urgent need for a tariff review and adjustments to ensure we are fairly distributing rates, that they are more flat and equitable.”

She said existing BPL rates will be maintained for the next three years while the review is ongoing.

She said if BPL seeks to adjust its rates before the end of the three years, it must make its case to the

Utilities Regulation & Competition Authority (URCA).

A section of the Electricity Bill noted that BPL and other electricity providers can charge different tariffs and prices to different groups of customers for a “transition period” of three years without approval from URCA. The provision prompted concern among some.

Yesterday, the administration amended that provision to “ensure that URCA’s continued role in approving

tariff changes under section 38(8) remains steadfast and unaltered,” Mrs ColebyDavis said, adding: “Some have said that URCA is being cut out as regulator, particularly regarding the approval of tariffs. This is not the case.”

“Previously, URCA’s role in regulating tariffs under the 2015 Electricity Act was mostly limited to BPL and Grand Bahama Power Company, though the role of URCA regulating GBPC became subject to legal

dispute.”

“The scope of regulation regarding fuel charges was unclear, leading to ambiguities in oversight. The new bill eliminates these uncertainties by explicitly stating that URCA regulates all rates and scales of charges for all licensees.”

She said the bill allows URCA to set the guidelines for how tariffs are calculated to ensure a more standardised and transparent approach to pricing electricity.

She said the enhancement of URCA’s authority includes approving all major renewable energy projects, calling this “significant.”

The Natural Gas Bill will also expand URCA’s oversight to include the natural gas sector, she added.

“This is particularly relevant as liquified natural gas (LNG) is likely to become a significant fuel source for electricity generation,” she said.

“URCA’s oversight in this area could lead to more efficient and potentially lower-cost electricity production, benefiting the entire energy sector.”

She said the government’s plans to reform BPL demonstrate its commitment to energy transformation.

She also insisted that BPL is not for sale and that there will be no layoffs or unionbusting tactics.

Opposition MPs did not support the passage of the bills, saying they were rushed through Parliament.

East Grand Bahama MP Kwasi Thompson criticised the Davis administration for not widely consulting the public on the bills.

“The government is attempting to change the law on regulating electricity and introduce the law

regulating natural gas without first telling the public what is their plan or strategy,” he said. “The public is left to guess what the government has in store. We cannot support the changes in the law without knowing what is the plan and who are the players. We will not blindly follow this government down a black hole.”

Former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said the passage of the Electricity Bill would be

“the biggest hoax that was ever perpetuated on the Bahamian people”.

He called for further consultation regarding a section of the bill that allows BPL to transfer assets to subsidiaries created through joint ventures. He said the bill requires Bahamians “only partially own” subsidiaries.

“To add insult to injury, BPL will be allowed to transfer their assets to these companies, so the equipment and the land that the Bahamian people now own will be transferred to private companies,” he said.

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe later countered that a provision in the Natural Gas Bill calls for Bahamian ownership.

PM: WE ARE USHERING IN A NEW ERA OF POWER GENERATION

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip

“Brave” Davis said his administration is ushering in a “new era of power generation” with its planned “comprehensive” reforms for Bahamas Power and Light (BPL).

Mr Davis did not give details on his government’s plans for the power company, but said it would deliver savings for Bahamians.

“We have big ambitions for The Bahamas and for the Bahamian people and we don’t believe in standing still,” he said. “We came here to tackle the most difficult and most consequential problems –– the ones that hold our country and our people back.”

His comments came as he opened debate on the Electricity Bill, 2024 and the Natural Gas Bill, 2024 in the House of Assembly yesterday.

“As you have heard me say, we didn’t come here to

defend a broken status quo. We came here to change it. To create a 21st century economy, we need a 21st century power grid –– a modern grid that is more efficient and cost-effective, capable of transmitting clean energy, and more resilient and capable of withstanding hurricanes.”

He said the country needs the right laws to move forward, adding the new bills will help them achieve these goals.

He said the new Electricity Bill would repeal and replace the Electricity Act and Electricity Rate Reduction Bond Act “which promised funding” that “never materialised.”

Meanwhile, he said, the Natural Gas Bill will create a framework for LNG that ensures that all LNGrelated operations are safe.

He said the legislation ensures the Utilities Regulation & Competition Authority responsibilities are robust and extend to Grand Bahama.

However, he said this was nothing new because

the government had always maintained that URCA’s regulatory authority should extend to the Grand Bahama Power Company (GBPC).

Referring to Marco City MP Michael Pintard’s concern about this extension of URCA’s authority, Mr Davis said: “He seems to enjoy speaking up for the Port Authority. I don’t think I’m the only one who’s noticed that, but be that as it may, if the member from Marco City wants the people of Grand Bahama to benefit from the reforms, then he should embrace this bill.”

“Who does not want to benefit from more affordable, more reliable, cleaner energy? Yes, we believe Grand Bahama should be included.”

He said: “Madam Speaker, in a better world, the previous government would have already laid a strong foundation for energy reform. They would have recognised the urgency of modernising our grid to gain efficiencies and lower prices.”

‘Kenya troop deployments to begin by month’s end’

minister during the second presidency of René Préval.

Mr Mitchell said choosing a prime minister is an important step.

“This is a Haitian-led process, and CARICOM has done all that it can to bring the process to this point,” he said. “It’s not really for us to determine who’s going to lead and who’s going to do what. It’s just, we have to see how the process unfolds. It appears to me that it has the broadest acceptance at this point of the elites in Haiti and that the international community accepts that this is the right direction going forward.”

Mr Mitchell said US officials expect US airlines to return to Haiti on May 16.

Politico reported on Monday that Kenya is expected to begin deploying forces to Haiti in late May. However, the publication

questioned where the troops would stay, saying the US had not finished constructing a base there.

Mr Mitchell emphasised the complexity of Haiti’s political situation.

“For example,” he said, “in The Bahamas, where we argue over policy points, but there’s a broad agreement about the direction in which to go, it’s much more fractious in Haiti. But that’s their political process. And, you know,

of course, I think with all human beings, it comes to a point where people say enough of this and we have to strike a consensus, so looks as if they’re at that point.”

The Davis administration has committed to sending 150 Defence Force officers to join a multinational team to help stabilise Haiti. National Security Minister Wayne Munroe has said the officers will help with maritime security.

CORRECTION

IN Tuesday’s Tribune, in an article titled “Claims that leader playing favourites in Women’s Association election process”, it was reported that FNM leader Michael Pintard made an appearance at a meeting on Monday. Mr Pintard was not present. We apologise for the error.

PRIME Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis. Photo: Dante Carrer

ENERGY and Transport Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis.

Photo: Dante Carrer

‘School violence decreasing’

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

EDUCATION Minister Glenys Hanna Martin said reports of school violence are decreasing.

“The numbers are down in school violence, but the discussion has gone up,” she told reporters outside the House of Assembly yesterday, adding that people must have the right perspective.

Concern about school violence erupted last week after a viral video showed an Eight Mile Rock High School student fighting a school resource officer. Four male students have since been charged with criminal offences over the incident.

Mrs Hanna-Martin said there is a challenge in creating “synergy that allows for healthy co-existence and excellence.”

However, she said, numbers show that school resource officers’ engagement on campuses has had a positive impact.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Chaswell Hanna, the officer responsible for school safety, said there has been a decrease in school violence, drug use, and weapon possession over the last two academic years.

Although he believes bag searches, lectures about the harmful effects of drugs and other measures have been effective, he called for parents to be more cooperative with schools.

“The problem we see with school safety right now are parents coming on campus creating a disturbance, trying to attack teachers, the principal because they’re not pleased with a grade their child may have gotten,” he said.

“We’re also asking the parents, you know, before your child leaves home, search their bag, search their room. When they come back home from school, do the same thing. You’d be surprised. You will be surprised to see what you may find.”

ACP Hanna said police are investigating a recent incident where three ninth-grade students were hospitalised after ingesting marijuana.

He said he is working with the Drug Enforcement Unit, the students, and the parents to resolve the matter.

Hanna Martin does not support BUT chief’s call for drug testing students

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

EDUCATION Minister Glenys Hanna Martin does not support Bahamas Union of Teachers president Belinda Wilson’s call for students to be drug tested.

The debate came after three ninth-grade students were hospitalised this week for ingesting marijuana at a school on Baillou Hill Road.

Mrs Hanna Martin said the number of students caught using drugs has been declining.

“If testing is deemed necessary by the parent, then the parent in conjunction with that child can facilitate that, but I do not see that as a role at this time of the Ministry of Education,” she told reporters before the House of Assembly sat yesterday.

“If there is a suspicion that students are using drugs, which is a selfdestructive act to some extent, then we should work with that child through our counselling, etc.” Mrs Hanna Martin linked marijuana use to what students may be experiencing off campus,

calling it anti-social and self-destructive.

“When you have external challenges, they manifest on the campus,” she said.

“It’s just the reality of life. These young people come from communities and they come on the campus. You’re not going to have a sterile environment unfortunately. I would love to have that, but you have to deal with what presents.”

“These are young people. We seek to help them come out on their own and if there’s a criminal offence that’s out of our hands, that’s dealt with otherwise.”

EDUCATION MINISTER GLENYS HANNA MARTIN

MRS. Ruby Ann Darling was administered the Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of Office as Deputy to the Governor General by Chief Justice Sir Ian Winder, in the Diplomat Room of the Office of the Governor General on Sunday.

Photo: Letisha Henderson/AP

Jury dismissed over a political connection

from page one

a hearing date for May 8 to determine what will happen next. Cornish faces two counts of rape, two counts of assault and one count of threats of death.

The complainant gave emotional testimony in court on Tuesday, alleging that Cornish raped her,

spat on her and put a knife to her throat, leaving her in fear for her life. She was expected to continue her testimony yesterday before the jury of six men and three women. Basil Cumberbatch and Vashti Bridgewater prosecuted the case. Tai Pinder Mackey and Linique Murphy Grant represent Cornish.

Trial by Judge Alone Bill tabled for debate

and choose a trial by judge alone.

The accused must either seek and receive legal advice or waive their right to legal advice.

In joint trial cases, judges can only allow a trial by judge alone if all accused people choose that option.

If someone does not choose a bench trial when they are arraigned, they can do so within sixty days of the adjournment of their hearing or before the next hearing date.

“Where an accused person waives his right to legal advice, the bill provides that the judge shall make an order for trial by judge alone only if satisfied that the accused person is competent to elect trial by judge alone without legal advice, has clearly and unequivocally elected to be tried by a judge alone, understands the effect of electing trial by judge alone, and files a Certificate of Waiver,” the bill says.

“Additionally, the Bill provides for the application of the Act to persons who are charged on indictment prior to its commencement, but whose trials have not begun at the commencement of the Act.”

“The Bill sets out the jurisdiction of the judge in a judge-alone trial and provides that judges sitting alone in such criminal trials shall be judges of the law and the facts and requires them to give reasons for their decisions.”

“The Bill also provides that all references to trial by jury in any written law include a reference to trial by judge alone where the accused elects that mode of trial.”

The Trail by Judge Alone Bill, 2024 would amend the Court of Appeal Act, the Supreme Court Act, the Magistrate’s Act, the Evidence Act, the Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code Act, the Capital Punishment Procedure Act, the Child Protection Act and the Firearms Act.

During the Eugene Dupuch Distinguish Lecture’s 25th anniversary meeting in March, Court of Appeal President Sir Micheal Barnett, Chief Justice Sir Ian Winder, former Chief Justice Sir Brian Moree, and former Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall highlighted issues with jury trials.

Sir Michael said he was involved in cases where his expected ruling was the opposite of the jury’s verdict. He said sometimes he pondered how jurors arrived at the conclusion they did.

Sir Burton called it wrong that jurors do not have to give reasons for their verdicts, noting that if a magistrate convicts someone, they must give a reason. He questioned how appellate bodies can reach conclusions if jurors give no reason for their verdicts.

Sir Ian noted that if jury trials were eliminated, the trial process would move much quicker, and the struggle to find people to serve would be erased.

Johnson set to challenge Duane Sands for chairman

tradition of the FNM for all who think that –– and I don’t speak for him –– all who think that they have the ability to run and vie for the office. That’s the history and a tradition of the FNM,” he said.

Mr Johnson also declined to comment on Dr Sands’ performance as chairman, saying the party must remain united. He said he believes he is committed to serving the country and party and highlighted the “accepted belief by all that a welloiled FNM machine as it was in 1992 is more than capable of taking the government.”

Mr Johnson vied for the chairmanship post in 2022, the last time the FNM had a full convention. Dr Sands received 183 votes, Mr Johnson received 169 votes and former Golden Gates MP Michael Foulkes got 83 votes.

Insiders believe that both Dr Sands and Mr Johnson are part of Mr Pintard’s faction. The FNM will host a one-day convention on June 1, with all party positions up for grabs. Nominees for party positions have until tomorrow to declare themselves.

NOTH Abaco MP Kirk Cornish.

Photo: Dante Carrer

FORMER MP Elsworth Johnson

The Tribune Limited

NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI

“Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

PICTURE OF THE DAY

LEON E. H. DUPUCH

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH, Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972

Contributing Editor 1972-1991

RT HON EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON, C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B.

Publisher/Editor 1972-

Published daily Monday to Friday Shirley & Deveaux Streets, Nassau, Bahamas N3207

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Bahamians left in the dark on Electricity Bill

THE Electricity Bill being put before Parliament is ringing some bells.

Not so long ago, the government introduced a raft of fee changes in the boating sector.

Was there adequate consultation? Not even slightly. What was the outcome? Well, after it became clear the impact of the fee changes would cause significant disruption to boat operators, the government went back and had a rethink and changed the structure.

Now here we are again with the Electricity Bill. Clearly, the government has decided what it is doing with BPL, it just hasn’t gone through the courtesy of asking us what we think about it, let alone telling the workers at the corporation what is coming their way.

Take, for example, the works of FNM MP Kwasi Thompson in Parliament yesterday, who said that the Grand Bahama Power Company and the people of Grand Bahama have not been consulted over the proposed energy reforms.

Squeezed into all of this is the ongoing situation with the dispute between government and the Grand Bahama Port Authority, with the legislation seeming to be one more building block in however that dispute is going to turn out.

Mr Thompson said: “They’ve not spoken to anyone in Grand Bahama with regard to the Electricity Bill, they’ve not spoken to Grand Bahama Power with respect to the Electricity Bill. They’ve treated the entire island with disrespect.”

Now all of this might be knockabout politics, and there is no doubt that reform of our electricity sector is a baton that keeps getting dropped as each successive government has tried to pass it on.

But the suggestion that perhaps this bill has been brought too quickly or without adequate consultation is not helped by the fact that the government is already talking about amendments.

JoBeth Coleby-Davis, the Energy

Minister, said: “Some have said that URCA is being cut out as regulator, particularly regarding the approval of tariffs. This is not the case.”

People only said that because they read the bill and that seemed to be what it was saying. The amendment brought yesterday says would “ensure that URCA’s continued role in approving tariff changes under section 38(8) remains steadfast and unaltered”. You do not need to bring an amendment if the law had not suggested otherwise.

There are also concerns as to why there needs to be any suspension of approvals of tariff rates by such authorities as URCA.

The early part of this administration was blighted by the extraordinarily high power bills we all had to pay as oil prices surged, with the government having missed the boat on a fuel hedging deal that may have kept bills down.

The question is being asked, why look to remove restrictions on tariff approvals if you are not planning to put those rates up.

Needless to say, a countdown to the election with increased electricity prices will not help the PLP’s chances of a return to office, however. So while the legislation might hint that way, how likely is it that we will see significant increases?

Working out exactly what is going on with this bill is, as it turns out, what the real problem is. Because we have not been told.

Given that the government has not been eager to consult or gain opinions, perhaps it should not be surprised when people raise their hands and point out flaws as legislation is tabled.

Will publicly owned BPL assets be transferred to private companies? What will that do to the corporation’s balance sheet? Are we going to be handing over assets bought by taxpayers to profit private firms? Can the likes of the Grand Bahama Power Company even take on the role being imagined in the legislation? Ironically, we are being left in the dark. And it seems to be on purpose.

EDITOR, The Tribune.

IN Alicia Wallace’s article in The Tribune on May 1, she mentioned a number of provisions in the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by United Nations Member States, and she repeated the basic tenets of those goals as it relates to protection and empowerment for women and girls. Despite the obvious contextual flaws embedded in Ms Wallace’s arguments, she failed to define the points of discrimination against women and girls that persist in The Bahamas that do not persist against men and boys. With the exception of identifiable legislative carryover flaws that infringe on the rights of women -- such as marital rape and offspring citizenship in specific cases -- what are the economic, political,

and social rights afforded to men in this country that are not equally afforded to women?

Ms Wallace mentioned provision (5.1) calling for the end of discrimination against women and girls. How about we just eliminate discrimination against everyone? She mentioned provision (5.2) calling for the elimination of violence against women and girls. How about eliminating violence against everyone? Continuing, provision (5.5) calls for women to be afforded opportunities in leadership. Where are women not in leadership positions? Female leadership in the banks, insurance companies, tourism services, government agencies seem to outnumber men in all, but a few cases. In fact, it is men who are rarely seen in many of the senior

positions in these industries. What I don’t hear Ms Wallace demanding is equal representation for women in construction, engineering, landscaping, firefighting and civil protection, etc. Why? One of the things we refuse to do in this country is be led by facts. Rhetoric rules. I am calling on the Bahamas National Statistical Institute to begin publishing data on gender in the employment and earnings statistics across major sectors of the economy. We need to look at the facts. We need to examine the discrimination and unfair practices against men in this country as well. But we won’t because that doesn’t get international attention.

CARLOS KNOWLES Nassau, May 1, 2024.

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I MUST admit that I am a die-hard FNM, and was of the firm opinion that we would win the 2021 election in another landslide. Of course, I had heard rumblings that persons would be voting against the FNM because of the lockdown; but I put that down as Idle talk, because, we had shown the world how to survive COVID-19. Therefore, the results of September 16, 2021 was a severe kick to the stomach, and I wondered why the bottom fell out. There and then I decided to get to the bottom of this SAGA.

When the Council was adamant about holding an election as soon as possible, to elect a new leader, I felt certain that a power play was in the making, then they insisted that Minnis do not run, then I was certain.

Words were spread on the streets that Minnis, had gotten power hungry; but Minnis was locked into saving lives.

Pintard’s pitch for leadership, was the promise to bring back the monied

Implores vote against Pintard Amending

people, along with all the disgruntled FNMs who deserted us.

Pintard was elected leader with a vast majority of the votes, and as he excitedly mounted the victory podium, he was quickly joined by Divider In Chief (HAI). First words uttered by the new leader was that he intended to get unity in the party, and, bring back persons like Loretta and Rollins. This gave me a shock, now I must re-evaluate this situation. This man is obviously insane. Loretta who, in my opinion, tried to tear the FNM apart, and he is preaching unity? Fast forward, now as leader, he travels to London with two PLP sharks (Fred and Brave). Now we will forever wonder what words were spoken by these predators, but we do know that he asked Brave to remove Adrian from the Public Accounts Committee. Really an act of serious

unity?

Now there are indications that he is seriously thinking of bringing back another controversial person, in the form of Fred McAlpine.

Another clear cut divider? Then, I heard that he recently advised that who does not support his leadership will be left behind, because the train has already left the station. Then his very close associate the late Don Saunders was advocating that at convention certain parties would be forced out of the FNM. This was a strategy employed by another former PM who has the ear of our esteemed leader. Which brings to mind Tenny, Bulgie, Pierre, and Brad, who were apparently too popular and posed a threat and had to be eliminated.

Looking at the scene from above, I implore all persons of decency to stay firm with a man of proven virtue and defeat these political Tommy Tuckers.

FALCON Nassau, April 30, 2024.

EDITOR, The Tribune. WHY do politicians love to muddle up the obvious? The amendment to the law covering rape, surely if you keep the description to the basic essence of the act you cover everything and there is no

controversy?

“Any sexual act by anyone which takes advantage of or occurs without the agreement of the party or parties of any gender or age is an offence under this Act”. Surely all those attorneys

in the House can agree this covers everything. The real issue is will the essence purpose ever be practised or business as usual ‘hide cases’.

J JOHNSTON Nassau, April 28, 2024.

A PROTESTER carries balloons to a march on International Workers’ Day in Santiago, Chile, yesterday.

Photo: Matias Basualdo/AP

Laroda denies Social Services reducing food assistance rates

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

SOCIAL Services Minister Myles Laroda said his ministry is reviewing its food assistance programme to recommend

“cost of living increases”. He said this after denying that the government is reducing food assistance rates from $90 to $45. It is unclear where the rumour started, but Mr Laroda told parliamentarians that the information

MAN ORDERED TO PAY FINE FOR INDECENT ASSAULT OF WOMAN

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was ordered to financially compensate a woman after he admitted to accidentally touching her face while taking a selfie last weekend.

Assistant Chief Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans charged Ashtin Rolle, 21, with indecent assault.

Rolle briefly touched a

20-year-old woman’s face while taking a photo on April 28 in New Providence. After pleading guilty, the defendant apologised. He was granted a conditional discharge and ordered to compensate the complainant $200. If he fails to do so, he will face a $250 fine or 14 days in prison. Linda Virgil represented the defendant. Inspector S Coakley served as prosecutor.

MAN ACCUSED OF CONSPIRING TO SET FIRE TO MAN’S TRUCK

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

AN elderly man was imprisoned after he was accused of vehicle arson in New Providence last week.

Magistrate Samuel McKinney charged Peter Sturrup, 63, with arson and conspiracy to commit arson. Sturrup and an accomplice allegedly conspired

and set fire to a green 2004 Mack Truck belonging to Sandy Morley on April 25. This incident reportedly caused $3,000 worth of damage to the vehicle. The accused was told that his matter would proceed to the Supreme Court through a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI). Sturrup’s VBI is due for service on July 3. Alphonso Lewis represented him.

TWO AMERICAN MEN FINED FOR POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

TWO American women were fined yesterday after they admitted having quantities of marijuana on vacation in New Providence.

Magistrate Samuel

McKinney charged Kenitira Reed, 34, of Atlanta, Georgia, and Brelyn Jones, 27, of Maryland, with possession of

dangerous drugs. Reed was reportedly found with ten grams of marijuana on April 30. Jones was reportedly found with seven grams of marijuana in a separate incident on the same day. After the defendants pleaded guilty to the charges, they were granted conditional discharges. Both must pay $500 or risk three months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

was false and meant to cause mischief.

“Food rates, in fact, increased in January 2023 to the amounts ranging from $92 per month to $208 per month based on the number of dependents in the household,” he

said. “I take this opportunity, Madam Speaker, to remind persons social assistance is not an entitlement, but is issued as an assessment conducted and persons found to be in the greatest need are assisted.”

Mr Laroda said more details about the potential increases would be released later.

“Meanwhile, Madam Speaker, the general public is encouraged to seek clarification directly from the Department of

Social Services should there be any doubt about the assistance we offer,” he added. “We wish to emphasise that my ministry’s goal is to always provide assistance and support those who are most in need.”

SOCIAL Services Minister Myles Laroda

Photo: Dante Carrer

Capital punishment and a culture of revenge and retaliation

• THIS column was originally published in 2014, and is reprinted with the issue still unresolved.

FORMER Roman Catholic Archbishop of Nassau, the late Lawrence Burke, SJ, lamented that many Bahamians often seemed more fixated on Good Friday, less seized by the assurance and promise of Easter Sunday. His was an insight of a theological mindset resident in a culture steeped in religious fundamentalism with an attendant deepseated negativity about the human condition and human possibility.

The image of the wrathful avenging God of much of the Hebrew Scriptures more often seems to hold our spiritual and religious imaginations and that of fundamentalist preachers, rather than the merciful Christ of the New Testament, who rescued the woman caught in adultery from being stoned to death by a mob of the self-righteous determined to impose on her a capital punishment.

One’s image and understanding of God affects

one’s Christian anthropology, ie, one’s image and understanding of the human person and the human community, affects one’s understanding of sin and redemption, as well as one’s views on a range of ethical issues such as capital punishment. We tend to be a fundamentalist culture steeped in the psychology and theology of revenge and an eye for an eye. That we live in a culture where many believe that the ravages of

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a hurricane may be punishment from God, rather than a naturally occurring phenomenon, speaks to a certain mindset.

While some sort of a retributive response in terms of punishment is a necessary component of fundamental justice, retaliation is a different ethical species.

It is a culture of retaliation by gangs, drug dealers and others that is significantly responsible for the cycle of violence and viciousness and murder and mayhem that continues to produce a body count recorded in blood and, at the carnage in Fox Hill, a killing of innocents.

Amidst the bloodshed by criminals, many now want the state to respond by shedding blood in the form of capital punishment.

In an article, Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes commented on the cry for capital punishment from various quarters: “‘Personally, I don’t agree with capital punishment. The young people are killing one another and you are telling them violence is not the answer.

“‘But what do you do to cure the problem? You resort to violence? You join the killing spree? No. I don’t think that’s the answer. It gives you the false idea that, that would help to solve the problem. The problem is bigger than that.

“‘The solution to the problem is more complex. It demands more thought, more social action, more calculated, planned interventions to bring about change. And we have to save those young men, not destroy them or not join in the process of destruction.’”

In terms of jurisdictions which retain capital punishment, The Bahamas is mostly not in the best of company. But Sir Arthur is in noble company with Nelson Mandela and South Africa, where the death penalty has been abolished.

A previous Front Porch column, entitled, “Pandering to Bloodlust: The Politics of Capital Punishment”, touched on the political manoeuvring by some politicians on this highly emotive issue.

Additionally, no major political party in The Bahamas has applied a litmus test to its members on capital punishment, a matter of conscience.

Reportedly, on the eve of the 1994 South African election which brought Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress (ANC) to office for the first time, an election consultant from the US advised the ANC to remove the

‘But what do you do to cure the problem? You resort to violence? You join the killing spree? No. I don’t think that’s the answer.’

- Sir Arthur Foulkes

moratorium on executions instituted by outgoing President FW deKlerk.

Mandela and his party were advised that such a move might help the ANC to win a two-thirds majority. He rejected the ploy to reinstitute hangings, though it would have been widely popular.

In a blog posted online on December 13, 2013, titled, “Mandela and the Death Penalty”, Carolyn Hoyle noted: “On a day when the world mourns the death of Nelson Mandela, it is worth remembering his role in de Klerk’s remarkable move to abolish the death penalty in South Africa.

“Despite the fact that the South African Transitional Constitution of 1993 was silent on the matter of whether or not the death penalty was permissible, the Attorney-General, in line with President Mandela’s long-held belief that the death penalty was barbaric, brought a case before the Constitutional Court, arguing that the death penalty should be declared unconstitutional.

“The Court, in the landmark judgment of The State v T Makwanyane and M Mchunu in 1995 decided that capital punishment was incompatible with the prohibition against ‘cruel, inhuman or degrading’ punishment and with a ‘human rights culture’ which made the rights to life and dignity the cornerstone of the Constitution. A further influential argument was that it would be inconsistent with the spirit of reconciliation, post-apartheid.

“Despite the fact that political parties such as the Freedom Front Plus, the Christian Democratic Party, and the Pro-Death Penalty Party have argued for reinstatement of capital punishment in South Africa, on the grounds that it is necessary to reduce the country’s very high homicide rate, it is very unlikely that there would be a parliamentary majority for the constitutional amendment that would be necessary. Such is the legacy of Nelson Mandela.”

It is a source of bemusement and amusement that

some who often lionise Mandela are less apt to follow his legacy.

Mandela, like many others, opposed the death penalty for a complex of reasons, a prime one of which is the possibility of the state executing an innocent person.

The late Paul Adderley, an accomplished jurist who served as Attorney General, argued to this columnist that his opposition to capital punishment was not for many of the socalled “moral” reasons as offered by other opponents.

Adderley’s opposition, though argued on practical grounds, was also ethical. He was empathetic that the possibility of the state executing an innocent person rendered capital punishment unacceptable.

Paul Adderley went even further. He noted that he knew of at least one case in which the state executed a man for a murder that he did not commit.

Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham is also personally opposed to capital punishment, and shares Adderley’s concern over the possibility of executing an innocent person.

Ingraham has noted: “One of the horrors of capital punishment is that there is no remediation for a mistake. An innocent man executed because he was wrongly convicted remains dead even if a court of law subsequently determines that he was innocent.”

The list of such wrongful convictions and executions are long in every country in which capital punishment is practised.

There remains concern over perhaps two possible mistaken executions in The Bahamas in the past several decades.

In criminal law there is a formulation usually attributed to English jurist, William Blackstone, but which can also be traced back to Biblical precepts which admonishes: “It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer”.

Scholars point out that the actual numbers (ratios) are not generally seen as important, so much as the

idea that the state should not cause undue or mistaken harm “just in case”.

So the state and most particularly democratic states, act so that their courts “err on the side of innocence”.

Genesis 18:23-32: Abraham drew near, and said, “Will you consume the righteous with the wicked?

What if there are fifty righteous within the city? Will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are in it? ... What if ten are found there?”

He [The Lord] said, “I will not destroy it for the ten’s sake.”

State-sanctioned violence in the form of capital punishment reinforces a culture of violence and demeans the value of human life and serves no useful anticrime purpose in terms of deterrence. Statistics show that capital punishment has not been a deterrent to future murders in any country. Countries that practice capital punishment do not necessarily record lower crime or murder rates than do countries that have abolished capital punishment.

To the contrary, many countries that abolished capital punishment have far fewer murders annually than do those that continue to execute convicted murderers, for example the European Union Countries versus the United States of America.

The moral arguments touted by many in The Bahamas for capital punishment seem more like those of revenge. The greater moral burden for proponents is the likely possibility of the state executing innocent people in our name. Such a possibility is unjust and neither humane nor Christian.

In our justifiable outrage at crime and our responsibility to punish those convicted of murder we need not stoop to the level of brutality nor compromise our sense of justice and fairness by maintaining a system that is bound to make the grave error of killing an innocent person, an error that can never be rectified.

Isaiah 43

1

But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

2

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

3

For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.

4

Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.

5

Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;

6

I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;

7

Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

8

9

Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.

Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.

10Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

11I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour.

12I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God.

13Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?

14Thus saith the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all

their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.

15I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.

16Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;

17Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.

18Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.

19Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

20The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.

21This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.

22But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.

23Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.

24Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.

25I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

26Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.

27Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me.

28Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.

Political implications of Trump’s presidential immunity in trial

THE US Supreme Court heard arguments from lawyers last week on the question of whether any or all of Donald Trump’s actions as president are or should be protected against prosecution by virtue of the fact that he took those actions as president.

Trump’s attorneys argue that the answer is yes, and that such immunity extends to every one of his actions, all of which are by definition official. This represents the universal application of the principle of executive privilege, which has been invoked in some cases by every recent American president, usually to protect the privacy of communications.

Government attorneys from the US Department of Justice presented contrary arguments before the high court. They contend that Trump’s alleged actions in attempting to organize a broad effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election that he lost represent clear criminality and should not be protected under any kind of legal or procedural immunity.

The massive case currently being litigated in US District Court in Washington, DC, by special counsel Jack Smith is aiming to prove that point, and Trump’s lawyers have appealed to the Supreme Court in an effort to get the federal charges thrown out of court. Smith, who was appointed in November 2022, filed his charges on August 1, 2023.

The Smith case is on hold now, pending a Supreme Court decision which will likely not be issued until the

STATESIDE

end of June at the earliest. There is much public speculation that Trump and his many lawyers are simply ‘running out the clock’ in

an effort to delay the legal proceedings until after the November election. Then, if Trump were to win reelection, he could simply

enshrined federal protection for a woman’s right to abortion. Now their handpicked court has withdrawn that right. And it might well cost the GOP dearly in November.

But if we put all the politics of the Supreme Court’s June decision aside, what about the basic issue here? There seems to be real issues on both sides of this dispute.

What if the high court decides in the government’s favour and allows Jack Smith to continue to pursue his case? And what if Trump is eventually, years hence after every available appeal is exhausted, convicted of felony crimes? What if he is even sent to prison?

Trump is certainly a reprehensible, even disreputable man. His public conduct has been embarrassing. His disrespect both for the office he held and for the government he led for four years are manifest in his continued efforts to suborn and corrupt them.

portrayed a world of potential political prosecutions that would destroy the “presidency as we know it.”

The justices at the US Supreme Court may be mostly Republican appointees. Many people may regard them as excessively partisan. But the issues raised by Trump’s attorneys do deserve serious consideration.

On the other hand, however, so too do the points argued by the government attorneys. Trump demonstrably tried to overthrow the constitutionally mandated peaceful transfer of power from loser to victor in the aftermath of the 2020 US presidential election. His plots and schemes have been revealed repeatedly in court rooms all over the country.

order a new Attorney General, appointed by him, to dismiss the government’s case.

The practical political implications of the high court’s deliberations are central to the ongoing campaign between former president Trump and current president Joe Biden. Significant numbers of voters have told poll-takers that they would not vote for Trump if he had been convicted of a felony. He faces felony charges in the case before the District Court.

This game-changing role of the US Supreme Court in American politics is hardly unprecedented. The 2000 election was basically decided by a Republicanmajority high court when it halted a recount of votes in Florida, giving the election to GOP candidate George W Bush. That was the election that was smeared by charges of corrupt behaviour by the Republican Secretary of State of Florida.

Luck and circumstance have conspired to allow Republican presidents to appoint two-thirds of the currently serving justices, and these GOP presidents have increasingly leaned toward partisanship and particular political views of candidates in making their appointments. Trump and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell managed to cleverly manipulate the nomination and confirmation process to help produce the current 6-3 conservative majority.

“Always be careful what you wish for. You might get it.” The Republicans might recall this old saying. They have for many years championed the conservative crusade to overturn the 1973 Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision that

But he was the duly elected president of the United States. In this particular case, anyone watching the January 6 congressional hearings investigating the Trumpincited rioters who attacked and breached the US capitol building might well believe federal crimes were committed, including by Trump. His lawyers are arguing something different here. They are pointing out that if Trump were to be convicted of crimes committed while in office, this would set an important precedent. Even if Trump’s crimes merit conviction, what would prevent future presidents from whimsically prosecuting their successors and political opponents?

What if our own Commission of Inquiry thirty years ago had pursued criminal charges in court against former Prime Minister Sir Lyndon O Pindling?

A UN-related worldwide legal data base reminds us that “upon taking office as prime minister, (Hubert) Ingraham appointed a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the Pindling government. In 1995 the commission detailed widespread mismanagement and malpractice in the national telephone and airline companies.”

Sir Lyndon was not brought to trial on any charges resulting from this investigation. But how would we have responded if he had faced serious charges from the Commission’s inquiry?

Whatever you may think about Trump, don’t his attorneys have a point? If he is convicted and ultimately sent to jail, doesn’t that indeed set an undesirable precedent? Who could predict how future presidents might abuse that precedent? Wouldn’t the law of unintended consequences not be fully applicable?

A Trump attorney claimed that without immunity for official acts, all presidents could be paralyzed by the knowledge that once they were out of office, they could face charges from their rivals based on the tough calls they had to make while in power. The attorney convincingly

A government lawyer worried that any form of blanket immunity would place presidents entirely outside of the rule of law and encourage them to commit crimes, including “bribery, treason, sedition, even murder,” with impunity.

“The framers knew too well the dangers of a king who could do no wrong,” he told the Supreme Court justices.

In fairness, shouldn’t there be some legal consequence for such behaviour? In the immediate aftermath of the January 6 riots, many Republicans urged just that. For many GOP leaders, those riots caused a return to the scorn for political outsider Trump that many had shared publicly until he became their party’s nominee in 2016.

But now that Trump has recaptured complete control of the Republican Party, the endorsements are flowing in. When the Republicans hold their nominating convention in Milwaukee in July, the delegates will all proclaim ‘hail to the king! Long live the king!’ even though many of them will find it unpalatable to do so.

Quite apart from the politics of the issue, however, it does seem that Trump should be punished for his disrespect of the American constitutional political process. The question is how to do it without enabling future politicians to abuse the precedent such punishment might encourage. It could take some time for the Supreme Court to complete its analysis of what presidential acts should qualify for the protections of immunity. And even if the justices determine that at least some of the allegations against Mr. Trump can be considered for prosecution, if they do not issue a ruling until late June or early July, it could be difficult to hold a trial before November.

A pre-election trial would be impossible if the court decided to send the analysis back to the trial judge, Tanya S Chutkan. If Chutkan were instructed to hold further hearings on which of the indictment’s charges were official acts of Trump’s presidency and which were private acts he took as a candidate for office, the process could take months and last well into 2025, according to The New York Times.

with Charlie Harper

FORMER President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he leaves the courtroom following the day’s proceedings in his trial at Manhattan criminal court in New York on Tuesday. Photo: Justin Lane/Pool Photo/AP

GG opens Red Cross Fair

HER Excellency Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt, Governor General, received Freetown Urban Renewal executives and senior members in a courtesy call at the Office of the Governor General on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.

Photo: Letisha Henderson/BIS

MEMBERS of Global Chaplaincy Center Bahamas (GCCB) paid a courtesy upon Governor General HE Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt, at which time they presented her with the ‘Samaritan Award’ at the Office of the Governor General, April 17, 2024.

Photo: Letisha Henderson/BIS

GOVERNOR GENERAL, Her Excellency tCynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt officially opened the 80th Annual Red Cross Fair, where she greeted fair goers and played a few games, at Arawak Cay Heritage Village on Saturday.

Photos: Letisha Henderson/BIS

United Methodists repeal longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy with no debate

CHARLOTTE Associated Press

UNITED Methodist delegates repealed their church’s longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy with no debate on Wednesday, removing a rule forbidding “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from being ordained or appointed as ministers.

Delegates voted 692-51 at their General Conference — the first such legislative gathering in five years. That overwhelming margin contrasts sharply with the decades of controversy around the issue. Past General Conferences of the United Methodist Church had steadily reinforced the ban and related penalties amid debate and protests, but many of the conservatives who had previously upheld the ban have left the denomination in recent years, and this General Conference has moved in a solidly progressive direction.

Applause broke out in parts of the convention hall Wednesday after the vote. A group of observers from LGBTQ advocacy groups embraced, some in tears.

“Thanks be to God,” said one.

The change doesn’t mandate or even explicitly affirm LGBTQ clergy, but it means the church no longer forbids them. It’s possible that the change will mainly apply to US churches, since United Methodist bodies in other countries, such as in Africa, have the right to impose the rules for their own regions. The measure takes effect immediately upon the conclusion of General Conference, scheduled for Friday. The consensus was so overwhelming that it was

rolled into a “consent calendar,” a package of normally non-controversial measures.

“It seemed like such a simple vote, but it carried so much weight and power, as 50 years of restricting the Holy Spirit’s call on people’s lives has been lifted,” said Bishop Karen Oliveto, the first openly lesbian bishop in the United Methodist Church.

“People can live fully into their call without fear,” said Oliveto, of the Mountain Sky Episcopal Area, which includes Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming. “The church we’ve loved has found a home for us.”

Also approved was a measure that forbids district superintendents — or regional administrators — from penalizing clergy for either performing a same-sex wedding or for refraining from performing one. It also prohibits

superintendents from forbidding a church from hosting a same-sex wedding or requiring it to.

That measure further removes scaffolding around the various LGBTQ bans that have been embedded in official church law and policy. On Tuesday, delegates began taking such steps.

Delegates are also expected to vote soon on whether to replace the denomination’s official Social Principles with a new document that no longer calls the “practice of homosexuality … incompatible with Christian teaching” and that now defines marriage as between “two people of faith” rather than between a man and a woman.

The changes are historic in a denomination that has debated LGBTQ issues for more than half a century at its General Conferences,

departures took place between 2019 and 2023 under a temporary window enabling congregations to keep their properties under relatively favourable terms.

The conference on Wednesday voted formally to close that window, over the pleas of conservatives who wanted it extended, particularly since the original window only applied to US and not international churches.

“To limit its function to the United States (portion of the) United Methodist Church, that is a form of disfavour for the church in Africa,” said the Rev. Jerry Kulah, a delegate from Liberia.

which typically meet every four years.

About 100 LGBTQ people and allies gathered outside the Charlotte Convention Center after the vote — many with rainbow-coloured scarves and umbrellas — to celebrate, pray and sing praise songs accompanied by a drum.

Angie Cox, an observer from Ohio, said she has gone before her conference’s board of ordained ministry six times but was “told no just because of the prohibition on LGBTQ clergy.” She said Wednesday’s vote “means I might be able finally to live fully into my calling.”

The vote follows the departure of more than 7,600 American congregations — one-quarter of all UMC congregations in the US — reflecting conservative dismay over the denomination not enforcing its LGBTQ bans. The

Dixie Brewster, a delegate from the Great Plains Conference covering Kansas and Nebraska, called for a path for her fellow conservatives to disaffiliate smoothly. “We want a place to go peacefully,” she said. “We will not be disruptive. I do love all, I love my homosexual friends. I just view the Scriptures a different way.”

But others said the disaffiliation process of recent years tore apart congregations and families.

“We cannot continue to center the voices of distrust,” said delegate Lonnie Chafin from Northern Illinois.

Some pointed out there are other ways that congregations and entire conferences can still disaffiliate — noting that the General Conference last week approved the departure of some churches in the former Soviet Union — though others say this is overly burdensome.

This week’s votes could prompt departures of some international churches, particularly in Africa, where

more conservative sexual values prevail and where same-sex activity is criminalised in some countries.

The conference actions represent “a serious drift away from the truth,” Kulah said in an interview. “The church is now buying into culture. The Bible has not changed, but the church has changed.”

Last week, the conference endorsed a regionalisation plan that essentially would allow the churches of the United States the same autonomy as other regions of the global church. That change — which still requires local ratification — could create a scenario where LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage are allowed in the United States but not in other regions.

The church’s 1972 General Conference approved a statement in its non-binding Social Principles that homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching” — a phrase omitted in a proposed revision to the Social Principles that is also headed for a conference vote this week.

The now-repealed ban on clergy who are “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” was originally enacted in 1984, when the conference also voted to require “fidelity in marriage and celibacy in singleness.”

The denomination had until recently been the third largest in the United States, present in almost every county. But its 5.4 million US membership in 2022 is expected to drop once the 2023 departures are factored in.

The denomination also counts 4.6 million members in other countries, mainly in Africa, though earlier estimates have been higher.

REV. ANDY OLIVER, Pastor of Allendale UMC in St. Petersburg, Florida, left, and David Meredith wipe away tears after an approval vote at the United Methodist Church General Conference Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C.

Photo: Chris Carlson/AP

Unexpected prime minister announcement causes division in Haiti’s transitional council

PORT-AU-PRINCE Associated Press

A SURPRISE announce-

ment that revealed Haiti’s new prime minister is threatening to fracture a recently installed transitional council tasked with choosing new leaders for the gang-riddled Caribbean country.

Four of seven council members with voting powers said Tuesday that they had chosen Fritz Bélizaire as prime minister, taking many Haitians aback with their declaration and unexpected political alliance.

The council members who oppose Bélizaire, who served as Haiti’s sports minister during the second presidency of René Préval from 2006 to 2011, are now weighing options including fighting the decision or resigning from the council.

A person with direct knowledge of the situation who did not want to be identified because negotiations are ongoing said the council’s political accord had been violated by the unexpected move and that some council members are considering other choices as potential prime minister.

The council on Tuesday was scheduled to hold an election and choose its president. But two hours and a profuse apology later, one council member said that not only a council president had been chosen, but a prime minister as well. Murmurs rippled through the room.

The Montana Accord, a civil society group represented by a council member with voting powers, denounced in a statement late Tuesday what it called a “complot” hatched by four council members against the Haitian people “in the middle of the night.”

“The political and economic mafia forces have decided to take control of the presidential council and the government so that they can continue to control the state,” the Montana Accord said.

Haitian politics have long been characterized by secretive dealings, but many worry the country cannot afford further

political instability as gangs lay siege to the capital of Port-au-Prince and beyond.

“People change parties (like) they’re changing their shirts,” said François Pierre-Louis, a professor of political science at Queens College in New York and former Haitian politician.

He spoke during an online webinar on Tuesday evening.

Like others, he said he believed that Jean-Charles Moïse, a powerful politician who was a former senator and presidential candidate, was behind Bélizaire’s nomination.

“Interestingly, Moïse, of all the politicians there, is the one calling the shots,” Pierre-Louis said.

Moïse, however, does not sit on the council. His party, Pitit Desalin, is represented by Emmanuel Vertilaire, who is among the four council members who support Bélizaire.

The others are Louis Gérald Gilles, Smith Augustin and Edgard Leblanc Fils, the council’s new president.

They could not be immediately reached for comment.

A document shared with The Associated Press and signed by the four council members who chose the new prime minister state they have agreed to make decisions by consensus. The document is titled, “Constitution of an Indissoluble Majority Bloc within the Presidential Council.”

The move prompted the Fanmi Lavalas party to issue a statement Wednesday calling it a “masquerade” and “conspiracy” to guarantee that PHTK “thugs and their allies retain power…and continue the tradition of corruption.”

“The Lavalas Family strongly rejects the betrayal scandal that occurred on April 30,” the party said.

Fils represents the January 30 political group, which is made up of parties including PHTK, whose members include former President Michel Martelly and slain President Jovenel Moïse. Meanwhile, Augustin represents the EDE/RED political party, founded by former Prime Minister

Claude Joseph, and Gilles represents the Dec. 21 agreement, which is associated with f ormer Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who recently resigned.

Henry was on an official visit to Kenya to push for the UN-backed deployment of a police force from the East African country when gangs in Haiti launched coordinated attacks starting Feb. 29.

They have burned police stations, opened fire on the main international airport that remains closed since early March and stormed Haiti’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates. The violence continues unabated in certain part of Port-au-Prince, including the area around the National Palace.

Haitians are demanding that security be a top priority for the council, which is tasked with selecting a new prime minister and Cabinet, as well as prepare for eventual general elections.

But some Haitians are wary of the council and the decisions it’s taking.

Jean Selcé, a 57-year-old electrician, noted that most of the council members are longtime politicians: “Their past is not really positive.”

“I hope their mentality can change, but I don’t believe it will,” he said. “They don’t really love the country. Who’s dying right now? It’s Haitians like me.”

Robert Fatton, a Haitian politics expert at the University of Virginia, noted that some of the parties represented on the council are responsible for the current chaos in Haiti.

“It’s a contradiction,” he said. “Every time we seem to be in a crisis, we reappoint the same people and hope that they change their ways, but they do not.”

Raising the same criticism is Michael Deibert, author of “Notes From the Last Testament: The Struggle for Haiti,” and “Haiti Will Not Perish: A Recent History.”

He noted in a recent essay that the council is “dominated by the same political currents who have spent the last 25 years driving Haiti over a cliff, taking advantage of impoverished young men in the slums to

be used as political bludg-

eons before - bloated on the proceeds from kidnapping, extortion, drug trafficking and other criminal enterprises - these

groups outgrew the necessity of their patrons.”

More than 2,500 people have been killed or injured across Haiti from January to March, according to the

UN In addition, more than 90,000 people have fled Port-au-Prince in just one month given the relentless gang violence.

Highway collapse in China’s southern Guangdong

province leaves at least 24 dead

BEIJING

Associated Press

A SECTION of a highway collapsed early

Wednesday in southern China, sending cars tumbling and leaving at least 24 people dead, according to state media.

Eighteen cars fell down a slope after a 17.9meter (58.7-foot) long section of the highway collapsed, according to a statement from authorities in Meizhou city in Guangdong province. The incident occurred around 2 am

The death toll had risen to 24 by Wednesday afternoon, according to China’s official Xinhua News agency.

Parts of Guangdong province has seen record rains and flooding in the past two weeks, as well as hail. Some villages in Meizhou had flooded in early April, and the city had seen heavy rains in recent days.

Witnesses told local media they heard a loud noise and saw a hole open up several meters wide behind them after driving past the section of the road just before it collapsed.

Video and photos in local media showed smoke and fire at the scene, with highway rails slanting downward into the flames.

A pile of blackened cars could also be seen on the slope leading down from the highway. The ground beneath the highway appeared to have caved in, along with the section of the road that had broken off.

Rescue workers have taken 30 people to the hospital, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

IN this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, an aerial photo shows rescuers work at the site of a collapsed road section of the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in Meizhou, south China’s Guangdong Province yesterday. A section of a highway collapsed early Wednesday in southern China leaving more than a dozen of people dead, local officials said, after the area had experienced heavy rain in recent days.

Photo: Xinhua News Agency/AP

EDGARD LEBLANC FILS, left, and Smith Augustin prepare to pose for a group photo with the transitional council after it named Fils as its president in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Tuesday. Photo: Odelyn Joseph/AP

SPORTS

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2024

Welcoming all to the World Relays

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter

The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) continues to leave their imprint on the World Athletics Relays as the event’s title sponsor. With just two days remaining on the World Relays countdown, BTC hosted a welcome reception for Team Bahamas and visiting athletes yesterday at the newly revamped Queen’s Staircase.

Sameer Bhatti, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BTC, was thrilled to have the company make its mark on The Bahamas’ fourth hosting of the World Relays.

“I am really excited. First of all, at this event tonight we are honouring all the athletes from Team Bahamas, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados and all the athletes in the region within the Cable & Wireless Communications umbrella.

“It feels great to be able to inject and commit $300,000 to the execution of these World Athletics Relays [and] to do so in The Bahamas with our brand and be able to sponsor Blake Bartlett, who is a BTC employee. He is a fabulous ambassador for us and also Stevie Gardiner. It feels great to be able to see us put this kind of event forward and be able to support Team Bahamas as well,” Bhatti said.

BTC’s CEO will be at Thomas A Robinson National Stadium May 4 and 5 alongside his leadership team with cowbells in hand ready to support Team Bahamas.

“We have cowbells ready to go. I will be there and my whole leadership team will be there cheering on

Team Bahamas making a lot of noise,” he said.

BTC brand ambassador and Olympian Steven “Speedy” Gardiner could not contain his excitement and he shared his expectations for this weekend’s BTC World Athletics Relays.

“My expectations are very high. We are back home and the last time we competed in the mixed relay was 2017 in Nassau so we are excited to be here in front of the home crowd.

“It is not everyday the Bahamian people get to watch us in person and this weekend is that opportunity so we are gonna go out and have a good time and bring home the gold medal once again,” Gardiner stated.

Back in 2017, the quartet of Olympian Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Gardiner, top sprinter Anthonique Strachan and Michael Mathieu prevailed as champions of the mixed 4x400m relay event.

With three of the four original members returning, Gardiner is confident that the event will end with a gold-medal finish for The Bahamas once again.

“I think we are going with the original team from 2017.

“We are much older and more mature so I think we are gonna go out there and just drop the hammer. We are gonna have fun and we are gonna win the gold medal,” he said.

SEE PAGE 18

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports

THE 2024 World Athletics Relays is expected to be a thrilling global showdown at the newly upgraded Thomas A Robinson National Stadium from May 4-5.

The world’s top relay teams will take the track this weekend to hopefully advance from “Paradise to Paris” but, before the big dance, junior athletes and younger ones will leave it all on the track for “Showdown in Paradise”.

The pregame show will precede the World Relays starting at 4pm on Saturday and Sunday. It will run from 4pm to 5:12pm and the Olympic qualifying event begins at 6pm.

Pharez Cooper, the organiser of “Showdown in

18

Freedom Baptist Warriors honoured

By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor

FREEDOM Baptist Academy took the time out to celebrate the performances of their Warriors’ boys and girls athletic teams as well as the feats achieved by their students.

A special assembly was held on Tuesday at the school where the students were honoured by principal Pastor Vincent Major and head coach.

“We want to recognise our students because in our country, it seems like only when young people get in trouble, the media come and make the news happen,” Major said.

“We know that bad news sells, but we think this is ample time for us to share our good news and to recognise our students who have done an excellent job this year.

“Most of them have maintained a 2.5 grade point average and above and many of them have made the honour roll and they are preparing for the GLAT examinations.”

Angelina Thompson, Major commended, won the spelling bee for the Bahamas Scholastic Athletic Association and two of their seventh grade boys came fourth and fifth.

THE SPORTS CALENDAR

“They are all doing a tremendous job, even though we are never satisfied,” Major said. As a result of their performances, Freedom Baptist Academy students

Prince Charles Drive. Knowles, who turned 72 on February 27, died on April 14. He last served as a physical education teacher and coach of various teams at CH Reeves Junior High School. He also coached the Appleton Stars in the New Providence Softball Association, which produced some of the

May, 2024

Charlton, who will be representing the Bahamas on the women’s 4x100m relay team at the World Relays this weekend at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, is slated conduct the clinic in New Providence and Grand Bahama.

SEE PAGE 19

attended the House of Assembly as a guest of the Minister of Education, Science and Technology Glenys Hanna-Martin. Additionally, they celebrated World Heritage Day

NATIONAL men’s team player turned coach Philip Major Jr is disappointed in the way the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association is treating its junior players and he’s calling on the removal of president Perry Newton. Major Jr travelled as the coach of the boys’ team of Jerald Carroll, Jackson Mactaggart and William McCartney at the recently held World Junior Tennis (WJT) Junior Davis Cup/ Junior Billie Jean King Cup North, Central American and Caribbean Final Qualifying Tournament in Orlando, Florida. On his return home after the team finished fourth at the competition, Major Jr issued his comments in a letter in which he voiced his displeasure over the state of affairs in the BLTA.

at the Heritage Park and they were able to take photographs with Anne Marie Davis, wife of Prime Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis.

This year, Freedom Baptist also introduced their

nursing cadet programme at the school and Major said they were delighted to present the CPR certificates to the recipients who passed the course and are now members of the boys and girls club.

“We want the whole Bahamas to know that our students are shining here at Freedom Baptist and that something is happening here, not just locally, but nationally,” he said.

“They are doing an outstanding job and we just want to thank God for pushing them. We just want them to go on to higher heights.”

Head coach Josiah Major said Freedom Baptist not only performed exceptionally well in the classroom, but a lot of their students also made their presence felt in the sporting arena for the Warriors.

“Our student/athletes are mulit-faceted,” coach Major said. “They are excelling in the classroom and they are excelling in other areas. This is our inaugural year with our

Here is Major Jr’s letter in its entirety:

After careful reflection on our Junior Davis Cup journey, where we were in a three way tie for second place, narrowly missing the final round in Spain, I must express my deep concerns regarding the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association shortcomings. Despite the remarkable performance of our talented young team representing the Bahamas, the lack of basic support from the tennis governing body is unacceptable. Not receiving per diem, inadequate communication, and a failure to provide essential team attire demonstrate a severe disconnect between the organization and its responsibilities.

This experience has left our young athletes disillusioned and undermines their commitment to representing their country. As a former player and currently a coach deeply invested in the future of Bahamian tennis, I urge the current leadership to step down and make way for a new chapter. Our youth deserve better, and it’s imperative that we address these issues promptly to ensure the integrity and success of our tennis communities for generations to come. As I am speaking on behalf of our elite juniors and generations to come we call upon all sports bodies to support this necessary change. Thank you for considering this an urgent matter.

JACK KNOWLES

FREEDOM Baptist girls basketball team pose with principal Pastor Vincent Major and head coach Josiah Major_.jpg

Newly formed Bahamas Baptist Sports Federation crowns volleyball champions

THE newly formed Bahamas Baptist Sports Federation crowned its Global Sun Invitational Volleyball Tournament champions with both the men and women winners emerging with come-frombehind backdoor sweeps over their opponents on Saturday.

After playing through the preliminary rounds on Thursday and Friday nights at the DW Davis Gymnasium, Golden Gates Native men and St Paul’s Baptist Fox Hill both completed the tournament with unblemished win-loss records.

In the men’s division, Golden Gates mounted their come-back to derail Macedonia Baptist in set scores of 18-25, 27-25 and 15-4.

Tamar Tinker was named the most valuable player. And in the women’s final, St Paul’s turned things around with their 20-25, 25-18 and 15-8 win over Golden Gates.

Pasha Johnson was voted the MVP.

In the battle for third place in the ladies’ division, Macedonia A knocked off Macedonia B 25-23 and 25-20 to bring the curtain down on the BBSG’s first team competition since they were officially launched this year.

The BBSF, formerly the Baptist Sports Council, was officially commissioned in February by the Bahamas Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention’s president Rev. Dr Philip McPhee.

Dr McPhee was on hand as well to open the tournament on Thursday night and returned on Saturday to make the presentation of awards to the various winners.

Also in attendance were Rev. Sr. Alonzo Hinsey Jr, pastor of Golden Gates Baptist Church; Rev. Scott Glinton, an Associate at St Paul’s Baptist Fox Hill and Rev. Denero Rahming, an Associate at Macedonia Baptist Church. Rev. Rahming also played for Macedonia.

The BBSF, headed by president Brent Stubbs, expressed its gratitude to tournament director Kirk Farquharson and members of the volleyball officials association for their assistance in making the event a success.

The BBSF will now gear up its next sporting discipline with its softball invitational tournament, scheduled for June 6-9. Interested teams can contact Stubbs at 426-7265 or softball director Thomas Sears at 424-2888 for more information.

FREEDOM BAPTIST ACADEMY HOLDS SPECIAL ASSEMBLY TO HONOUR THEIR ‘WARRIORS’ ATHLETES AND STUDENTS

nursing cadet and we have some of our boys who excelled in the programme.”

The Warriors won the junior boys’ title in the prestigious Father Marcian Peters Invitational Basketball Tournament in December that was hosted by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.

“We had some athletes who participated in the tryouts for the Bahamas junior girls national basketball team and they made the first cut, so hopefully we will have them in the final cut to represent our country,” coach Major said.

“It’s good, with all that is going on in the country, to put a positive light on these student-athletes.”

In the past year, coach Major said the Warriors captured a total of 13 basketball titles between their boys and girls basketball teams.

Christopher Strachan, a 12-year-old sixth grader, played on the Warriors’ primary boys team. He noted that they were able to hold their own this year.

“We won a couple of championships, so it was good,” Strachan said. “We had a lot of teamwork. We played very well as a team, but we could still do a lot better in the future.”

And Stacy Metellus, a 12-year-old seventh grader at Freedom Baptist Academy, said the girls’ team performed very well.

“It wasn’t bad,” she explained. “I think we did

good, but even though we lost, we still played well. I just hope that we practice a little more and we win more games next year.” Metellus, in summary, said the school

acknowledging the student-athletes for their accomplishments will only make Freedom Baptist Academy better in the future. A job well done.

FREEDOM Baptist girls players who are trying out for the junior girls’ basketball team pose with coach Josiah Major.

PRINCIPAL Pastor Vincent Major and head coach Josiah Major pose with some of their girls basketball players.

BBSF president Rev. Dr. Philip McPhee presents Pasha Johnson of St Paul’s Baptist with the ladies’ MVP award.

REV. Dr. Philip McPhee presents a plaque to Rev. Dr. Alonzo Hinsey Jr for Golden Gates Native Baptist Church.

BBSF second vice president Rev. Dereck Munroe presents Tamar Tinker from Golden Gates Native with his MVP award.

BBSF and volleyball officials pose above, shown from left to right, Sean Bastian, Matthew Nottage, Lanza Miller, Emerick Taylor, Brent Stubbs, McKlyn Ro.

MEMBERS of the men’s champions Golden Gates Native and runners up Macedonia pose with BBSF exectives Dereck Munroe, Brent Stubbs and Kendall Rolle.

MEMBERS of the two ladies teams, representing Macedonia Baptist Church, pose above with coaches Darrel Ranger and Anastacia Moultrie.

BBSF president Brent Stubbs presents Anastacia Moultrie, coach of Macedonia’s two ladies teams, with a bouquet of flowers.

GOLDEN Gates men’s champions celebrate with their pastor Rev. Dr. Alonzo Hinsey and coach Joyce Minus.

Celtics advance to East semis

By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer

BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown and Derrick White each scored 25 points and the Boston Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals, beating the short-handed Miami Heat 118-84 in Game 5 last night.

Boston will face the winner of the ClevelandOrlando series. The Cavaliers lead 3-2, with Game 6 in Orlando on Friday night.

Brown also had six assists, and White hit five 3-pointers. Sam Hauser added 17 points and Jayson Tatum had 16 points and 12 rebounds.

The top-seeded Celtics never trailed and led by 35 points. They also got a measure of revenge a year after the Heat routed them in Game 7 of the confer ence finals in Boston.

Bam Adebayo scored 23 points and Tyler Herro had 15 for Miami, which made

Beat short-handed Heat 118-84 in Game 5

its first exit from the playoffs prior to the conference finals since 2021.

The Heat struggled throughout, going 3 of 29 from 3-point range.

Boston played for the first time this postseason without centre Kristaps Porzingis after he strained his right calf in the Celtics’ Game 4 victory. His teammates filled in the gaps, as the Celtics’ lead reached 30 points in the first half.

Boston exploited a Heat

Jimmy Butler (knee) and Terry Rozier (neck), who had both been sidelined since the start of the series.

It made for unique rotations for Miami, which included veteran Patty Mills logging minutes for just the third time in the series.

Boston seized on the vulnerabilities in the Heat’s defence, spreading them out and knocking down eight 3-pointers in the opening period. It helped the Celtics carry an 18-point lead into

PACERS AND KNICKS HOPING TO MAKE MOST OF THEIR SECOND CHANCES WITH CLOSEOUT WINS

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)

— The Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks under stand the stakes. Second chances are rare in the NBA playoffs, and if these two franchises intend to change their recent post season histories, neither can afford to blow another opportunity in an Eastern Conference elimination game tonight. Both teams have 3-2 series leads and must make quick adjustments to rebound from their Game 5 losses.

“We got a little stagnant, holding the ball and play ing a little slower,” Indiana guard Tyrese Haliburton said following Tuesday’s 115-92 loss at Milwaukee.

“When teams switch, it can kind of lull you into that. We’ve got to be better there. I’ll be better there. Hell of an opportunity the next game back at home.”

Indiana hasn’t been to the Eastern Conference semifinals since beating Atlanta in 2014, but these Pacers have been defying trend lines all season.

KAI REES, KAYLAH FOX ADVANCE TO FINALS IN USTA L5 TOURNEY IN MIAMI

four-point play with 25 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to two. After Hart made a free throw, Maxey’s pull-up jumper from 35 feet tied the score at 97 with 8.1 seconds to go in front of a stunned crowd primed to celebrate a series-clinching

INJURY WATCH: New York’s Mitchell Robinson returned after missing Game 4 with a sprained left ankle, but the Knicks announced before the game that Bojan Bogdanovic would miss the rest of the playoffs and have surgery on the left foot he injured in Game 4. Embiid continues to battle a bad knee and Bell’s palsy, and he wasn’t his typical high-scoring self in Game 5 after coming into the game with an NBAleading 35 points per game in the playoffs. PRESSURE IS ON: The Sixers. It’s win or head home for an extended summer vacation. They needed a fantastic finish to survive Game 5 and avoid what seemed like certain elimination. They’ll need to pull out another today, albeit in front of their home

fan near the Celtics’ bench could be seen pantomiming fanning White on the

CELTICS guard Jaylen Brown, right, slams a dunk against Miami Heat centre Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series yesterday in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

World Relays 24: BTC welcomes athletes

The Olympic gold medallist added that he feels great coming off a hamstring injury and is looking to put on a show for family, friends and supporters.

Blake Bartlett, who is a member of the BTC sales team in Grand Bahama, is not only ready to make the company proud but also the host nation.

“It has been a beautiful journey I would say. It will be fun being able to run in front of our home crowd. I am expecting to have a big Junkanoo rush out at the stadium so that will give us a boost and some confidence,” Bartlett said.

Overall, Bartlett is hopeful that the men’s 4x100m relay team can book a trip

to Paris, France. “I would say this meet is a fun meet because we are obviously gearing up to go to the Paris Olympics.

“This is just a meet to get our relay teams going and be able to qualify for the Olympics,” he said.

Veteran track athlete Samson Colebrooke is no stranger to the World Relays. He competed on the 4x200m relay team at the IAAF Relays in 2017 but is looking to leave with the gold in 2024.

“This time around we are looking for gold. We are looking to qualify and are looking forward to letting every country know what The Bahamas is all about. I am excited and I am ready. Practice has been looking great this week so it is

looking good,” Colebrooke said.

As an athlete with ample experience on the big stage, the sprinter believes this experience can be a difference maker on Team Bahamas.

“When it comes to the 4x100m you need an experienced first leg. You need someone who is going to take it out and start off in the fire. I am that type of athlete. I go into the fire from the start and I just set it off,” he said.

The two-time national champion is ready to feed off of the excitement of the home crowd this weekend.

Charisma Taylor, who recently qualified for the Paris Olympic Games, is hoping to double up by qualifying with her

teammates in the women’s 4x100m relay event.

“I am just looking forward to being able to represent my country on this big of a stage in our home country that’s a blessing in itself. Just to be able to run with great athletes on the team with Deyvnne Charlton, Pedrya, Printassia and Camille is just great to be on the track with some fast girls.

“I know that we are gonna shock the world, shock The Bahamas and shock anyone that comes in our way. I am just excited to be here and excited to represent for my country,” Taylor said. She is in the relay pool along with world indoor hurdles record holder Devynne Charlton, Camille

Rutherford, Printassia

Richards and Pedrya Seymour. Johnson was grateful to make the team after watching the last World Relays on the other side of the television.

“It is a good feeling. In 2019, I was just watching it on TV but to now be a part of it is a good feeling and it is a vibe,” Johnson said. She expressed her confidence in the team.

“I have been having a good indoor and outdoor season so far. I know we have a strong 4x100m team with Devynne, Charisma and Camille. When you put all those ingredients together you have a good boil,” she said.

Jerod Elcock, who is a part of the Trinidad and Tobago men’s 4x100m World Relays team, talked about his mindset for Saturday and Sunday.

“It is very exciting because the goal is to qualify for the Olympics so we gotta put our best foot forward and do our best to qualify for Paris. The preparation has been going good. We came here on Monday and we started practice on Tuesday and we had practice days. We are very confident to compete on Saturday,” he said. The BTC World Relays will commence with the pregame show “Showdown in Paradise” at 4pm and the global Olympic qualifying event will follow at 6pm on both days.

‘SHOWDOWN IN PARADISE’ SET TO BE EXCITING

Paradise”, provided an update on this segment of the World Relays.

“Everything is going well with the pregame show. We just got some final information including arrival dates, arrangements and accommodations. Everything is going great and we expect to see a great pregame show,” Cooper said.

The show will be separated into three components - kids athletics, high school and invitational countries. The Kids Athletics portion

is set to feature athletes from under-7 to the under15 in the 4x80m shuttle relays. Athletes ranging from under-11 to under-15 will compete in the 4x100m and 4x400m relay events. The invitational countries will be in action in the 4x100m event and 4x400m mixed relays.

Another exciting element about “Showdown in Paradise” is the inclusion of the top competitors from the CARIFTA Games as well as the Special Olympics Bahamas athletes. “It is designed to be a rematch.

We brought in the top three countries in the individual races so now it is a rematch of all that energy, drama and suspense that surrounds track and field. To add to that we threw in the USA and, with them in the mix, it is gonna bring some more energy, thrill and more speed to the track,” he said.

Cooper is expecting the pregame show to push athletes a step further and provide them with exposure on a big stage.

“The design of this was to give exposure to young

people. It allows them to run on the biggest stage in the world because it is a world championship event and world athletics is going to be involved. We want them to be on the largest stage and to get the energy. This is an opportunity now to inspire the youth who want to go further in track and field so they could have a feel of what it is and so they could know and feel the energy of a true track and field session to push them to go further,” he said.

Over 300 young athletes are expected to compete

hailing from countries including the United States of America, Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, the British Virgin Islands and others.

Drumeco Archer, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Local Organising Committee (LOC), is hoping for the public to come out and support the youth during the pregame show. “There was a great body of work done for ‘Showdown in Paradise’.

That is exciting for us because we always seek to

the schedule

inspire young people and bring new athletes to our programme. Competing at this level is an entry point to let people know that this is a place where you can come and compete at a very young age.

“I am looking forward to the parents and family members coming out to cheer on the junior and age group athletes and that is always a very fun time for us,” Archer said.

“Showdown in Paradise” will commence with the Differently Able 100m finals at 4pm on Saturday.

Johnson, Jamiah Nabbie, Shayann Demeritte, Nia

Taysha Stubbs soaring in the right direction

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports

Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

CARIFTA gold medallist

Taysha Stubbs is certainly headed in the right direction in just her first year competing in the under-20 girls’ division.

Stubbs has all the momentum on her side after completing the month of April with three first-place finishes in the under-20 girls’ javelin event.

Taking it a step further, since the start of 2024, Stubbs has only finished out of the top position in the event on one occasion.

The 16-year-old, who attends Queen’s College, had some setbacks along the way but after her most recent stretch she described the feeling as “rewarding”.

“It feels rewarding just knowing that I have worked hard for these things to happen through minor setbacks. It just shows me that God is still in control and to continue trusting his plan because it is always gonna work out,” she said.

The transition into the under-20 division might seem like a seamless one but just last year Stubbs was unable to make the CARIFTA team for the 50th CARIFTA Games.

She surpassed the CARIFTA qualifying standard but javelin maestros DiorRae Scott and Kamera Strachan would ultimately secure their spots on the team in the under-17 division.

One year later, Stubbs seized the moment at her first CARIFTA Games in St George’s, Grenada and picked up a gold medal along the way. She won the under-20 girls’ javelin throw event with a personal best toss of 50.94m well above her second best heave of 47.17m.

If that was not enough, the CARIFTA gold medallist returned home to collect yet another victory this time at the 2024 National High School Track and Field Championships.

FROM PAGE 15

HURDLES CLINIC

The first segment of the clinic is all set to take place on Monday, May 6 from 4-7pm at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium. Then on Tuesday, May 7, she will stage the second segment at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex at the same time. Gifts will be presented to the first 50 competitors to register from 4-4:30 pm at both stadiums or contact her father and coach David Charlton at 357-7829..

BASKETBALL

NEX-GEN

THE third annual Nex-Gen Elite Training Basketball Camp, hosted by JR Basketball Academy, is all set for June 24 to July 13 from 9am to noon at the Telios Indoor Gymnasium on Carmichael Road. The camp, powered by Frazier’s Roofing, will provide training for game situations, shooting, passibng, ball handling, defense and footwork for boys and girls between the ages of 8-19 years. Registration is now open. Interested persons can contact Cadot at 535-9354, email jrcbasketballacademy.com or go online to www.jrcbasketballacademy. com

She took home bragging rights after turning in a throw of 43.20m on April 13.

The charismatic javelin thrower attributed her success in the new division to being able to have a fresh start.

“I think it is because joining this new division I have given myself a fresh start. Being able to come into this division I have not been letting anything pass me and I am working my hardest to make sure I execute and perform to my best when it counts,” she said.

Stubbs rode her newfound momentum all the way to a first place finish at the 128th edition of the Penn Relays hosted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

On her sixth attempt, she tossed the javelin to a winning distance of 47.17m.

The arduous weather conditions did not deter the 16-year-old from accomplishing her latest feat on the road.

“In Philly it was really cold and I am not really used to that yet so going into it my coaches told me that this is the type of weather conditions and you have to be mentally strong and keep your technique.

“At first, it was not really clicking but that is what my coaches were there for to help throughout the competition and with my training so I am super grateful to them and my family that was there too,” she explained.

FAST TRACK INVITATIONAL

FAST Track Athletics announced that its third annual Spring Invitational will take place over the weekend of May 10 and May 11 at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex. The entry fee will be $10 for adults and $5 for children. For more information, persons are asked to contact 242-727-6826 or fasttrackmanagamentoo@ gmail.com

RED-LINE CLASSIC THE Red-Line Athletics Track Club’s third annual Red-Line Youth Track Classic is set for 9am to 5pm May 25-26 at the original Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium. The entry deadline is May 15 with a fee of $19 per athlete and $10 per relay team.

BASKETBALL NPWBA POSTSEASON THE New Providence Women’s Basketball Association postseason began on Tuesday at the DW Davis Gymnasium. Here’s a look at the matchups for the playoffs: Saturday 7pm - Foxxy Defenders vs Sand Dollar Lady Flyers. 8pm - Elite Ballers vs Shift Lady Eagles. If necessary, the third and deciding games will be played on Monday. The best-of-5 championship series begins 7:30pm May 7 at DW Davis Gym.

The top field event per-

former added that the first few attempts did not go as planned but her final attempt felt good.

“The first couple throws were not really good. It felt good and it felt even better to know that still wasn’t my best throw and I have a lot more to do,” she said.

With this recent stint of success in the javelin event, the Blue Chip Athletics’ club member is using it as

fuel to push her even harder leading up to the World Athletics U20 Championships set for August 27-31 in Lima, Peru.

“It is inspiring especially with the World [Athletics] U-20 Championships coming up.

“It pushes me to train much harder so that when those competitions come around then I don’t have to build up the momentum to get to the throws that I

like,” the javelin thrower said. She gave special mention to CARIFTA record holder Dior-Rae Scott, who is also her clubmate and competed at the Penn Relays, for keeping her motivated.

“Dior-Rae especially plays a big role in what I am able to do. She pushes me a lot in practices and in competitions even though we are in different divisions. We have a lot of the same

goals when it comes to throwing so we know what it takes and what we have to do to get to a certain point. We help each other a lot,” she said. Stubbs thanked her coaches Corrington Maycock and Laquel Harris for always pushing her to accomplish the next milestone while also being the first ones to congratulate her when the job is done with.

MOVING ON UP: CARIFTA gold medallist Taysha Stubbs claimed first place in the high school girls’ javelin event at the 2024 Penn Relays hosted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

TAYSHA STUBBS

CH Reeves Raptors celebrate

CELEBRATION MODE: The CH Reeves Raptors celebrated their numerous championship victories earned during the 2024 GSSSA sports season with a motorcade over the weekend.

Photos: RBPF Public Affairs

THE CH Reeves Raptors’ motorcade took place this past weekend.