It was the goal of Malik Stuart to go out with a bronze medal in his final CARIFTA Games. He got the medal haul started for The Bahamas at CARIFTA this past weekend with a bronze in the under-20 boys discuss on Saturday evening at the national stadium in St. George's, Grenada. Overall, The Bahamas won medals in three of the four discuss events at the CARIFTA Games this past weekend. The only division the team didn't win a discuss medal in was the under-18 boys.

In the under-20 boys division, Stuart had a best throw of 52.18 meters (m) - 171' 2-1/4", to finish third. The hometown favorite Josh Boateng, of Grenada, won gold with a huge throw of 57.19m (187' 7-1/2"). Kevin Nedrick, of Jamaica, was second with a best throw of 53.53m (175' 7-1/2"), and Stuart settled for the bronze.

"I think my performance was okay, but it could have been a bit better," said Stuart. "I was being a bit too passive I think. I was trying to save throws, and not really going after it like I should have been."

The mark was still a personal best for Stuart. He said he's pleased with the result, and will now turn his attention toward qualifying for the 16th International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) World Junior Championships, set for July 19-24, in Bydgoszcz, Poland. He intends to qualify for that event and get on the medal stand in Poland.

"I was content with a personal best, but it could have been a bit better," said Stuart. "The main goal is just to continue improving, and hopefully get on the world junior medal stand a bit later this year. I'm definitely proud to compete for my country and get a medal."

Perry Adderley was seventh in that competition for The Bahamas, turning in a throw of 40.51m (132' 11").

There were also a number of near medal performances for The Bahamas in the field events on Saturday.

Serena Brown was just two centimeters short of a bronze medal in the under-20 girls shot putt, finishing with a best throw of 13.64m (44' 9"). Chelsea James, of Trinidad & Tobago, edged her out for the bronze medal, finishing with a best throw of 13.66m (44' 9-3/4"). Janell Fullerton, of Jamaica, won the gold medal, with a best throw of 14.52m (47' 7-3/4"), and her teammate Sahjay Stevens won the silver medal, with a best throw of 13.74m (45' 1").

The distances were a bit better in the under-18 girls event as Lacee Barnes, of the Cayman Islands, won that event with a massive throw of 14.90m (48' 10-1/2"). Ianna Roach, of Trinidad & Tobago, was second with a best throw of 14.49m (47' 6-1/2"), and Jamaican Aiko Jones claimed the bronze medal, with a best throw of 14.32m (46' 11-3/4"). The Bahamas' Tiffany Hanna was fourth in that event with a throw of 14.12m (46' 4").

Finishing fifth in the under-20 girls long jump was Taj Dorsett. Dorsett had a best leap of 5.48m (17' 11-3/4").

Yanis David, of Guadeloupe, won the event in a new CARIFTA record of 6.48m (21' 3"), breaking Bahamian Daphne Saunders' 27-year-old record of 6.39m (20' 11-1/2"). Jamaica was second and third with Jessica Noble winning the silver medal, with a best leap of 6.20m (20' 4"), and Tissanna Hickling winning the bronze medal, with a best leap of 5.84m (19' 2"). Alexis Trott, of Bermuda, was just ahead of Dorsett, finishing with a best leap of 5.50m (18' 0-1/2").

The Bahamas had two athletes competing in the under-18 girls high jump. Donneisha Anderson finished tied for sixth. Battling a knee injury all season, the silver medalist from a year ago could only muster a height of 1.68m (5' 6-1/4"). Bahamian Daejha Moss finished tied for ninth, clearing 1.60m (5' 3").
Just one Bahamian athlete contested the under-20 boys high jump on Saturday evening. Blayre Fernander was seventh, managing to clear just 1.95m (6' 4-3/4").

The Bahamas finished third in the standings after competition was completed on Easter Monday, finishing with 33 total medals - five gold, 15 silver and 13 bronze. Jamaica won with 86 total medals - 42 gold, 28 silver and 16 bronze, and Barbados finished second with 20 total medals - six gold, six silver and eight bronze. CARIFTA track and field is based on gold medal count.

By Sheldon Longley

Guardian Sports Editor

Dear Editor,

The air pollution from the weekend's dump fire was absolutely disgraceful. I live in the affected area and for two solid days, we were breathing through a thick haze of smoke. My young children were coughing and I know that these frequent fires cannot be good for them. I fear serious longterm health effects.

We should all praise the work of the fire officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force in fighting these blazes, however, I have to ask, what on earth is the political directorate doing about this disgraceful situation?

Over the last few years, the frequency and severity of these fires has increased and there seems to be nothing they can do about it. How can this be, when a contract was recently given to a new company to deal with the situation?

I understand that this company is run by foreigners, meanwhile there was a proposal on the table from a Bahamian company that was completely ignored.

If this is really the case it is beyond disgraceful. Our children are being made to suffer and there seems to be no end in sight, yet we cannot even trust our own when they put forward a plan to help.

- F. Bain

Students and teacher of James A. Pinder Primary School, Sandy Point, Abaco paid a courtesy call on Governor General Her Excellency Dame Marguerite Pindling at Government House on Thursday, March 24, 2016. (BIS Photo/Letisha Henderson) Source: Bahamas Information Services

THE Christie administration’s move to select a private company to manage its public health insurance option for National Health Insurance has been met with tepid responses from stakeholders who are eager for additional details before they decide whether this satisfies their needs and addresses their questions.

The public option has been a source of contention as the government moves to implement NHI.

The option would make healthcare services affordable to everyone by lowering the cost of such services.

KPMG, one of the government’s consultants on NHI, said during a press conference last week that it convinced the government to choose a private company to manage the public health insurance option rather than have it managed by the government.

Mark Britnell, head of the KPMG team of analysts currently advising the government, also said a public insurer must be established before primary healthcare services could be provided. He suggested that it could take months before this happens.

Nonetheless, Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA) Chairman Emmanuel Komolafe suggested to The Tribune yesterday that the concerns of the insurance industry will not be alleviated if a private company merely manages the government’s public health insurer while not having any ownership stake in it.

Insurers fear that the public insurer – even when managed by a private company – will incur significant losses at the expense of taxpayers while creating unfair competition in the insurance market.

“Management is not as important; ownership is,” Mr. Komolafe said. “With just management, it could still end up operating at a loss.”

The official position of the BIA is that a public insurer is not necessary to make healthcare accessible and affordable.

Given the high development of the private healthcare industry, concerns about access can be addressed through appropriate legislation, regulations and rules, including penalties for breaches, the BIA insists.

However, if a public insurer is to be introduced, the BIA wants it to exist as part of a joint ownership between the government and the private health insurance sector.

“The BIA believes that in order to ensure fairness and transparency in the management of a public insurer by the private sector, it would seem fair that all existing private health insurers (that have invested heavily in infrastructure and systems over the years) should be provided with the opportunity to participate via ownership or part ownership of the proposed national insurer,” Mr. Komolafe said. “This will be in line with the much touted PPP approach that has been promoted by the government. A possibility in this regard could be the allocation of share ownership in the proposed entity to the seven private health insurers based on their current market share or other agreed basis.”

Although BIA members have had preliminary discussions about such a venture, they are constrained by the lack of details so far provided by the government over its public insurance plans and won’t proceed further with their plans until the government makes a request for tender.

Indeed, it is unclear if the government is willing to share ownership of the public health insurance entity.

Asked about plans yesterday, the permanent secretary of the NHI secretariat, Peter Deveaux-Isaacs, said details have not been finalised.

“The government hasn’t determined how the arrangement will occur,” he said, adding that it “could very well be a joint partnership (in the end).”

“The government has not yet gone out to tender with the matter,” he said.

Decisions about the ownership and management structure of the public insurance option could have important implications for an industry that employs more than 100 people, is worth more than $270m, and represents over three per cent of the GDP and features Bahamians in many prominent roles.

Gowon Bowe, a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), said yesterday: “The government must not damage an industry that has gone from featuring principally foreign ownership to principally Bahamian ownership. There hasn’t been sufficient debate around a joint venture. It will be a change for all parties but it needs to be seriously considered.”

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter