The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

rwells@tribunemedia.net

WHILE the appointment of Michael Pintard as Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture has been met with mixed reviews - and even some calls for a ‘wait and see’ approach to his efforts - the Marco City MP has already started work with hopes of getting “a clearer sense of where we are going as a Ministry”.

In an interview with Fourth Quarter Press this weekend, the newly-appointed minister admitted to varying levels of apprehension and eagerness, all while insisting that his focus has been and continues to be the “equipping the arena of sports with the resources it needs”.

Fresh off several tours of facilities, offices and programmes all now under his purview as minister, Mr Pintard said that audits of resources and staff are already underway across his ministry as he looks to “familiarise” himself with not only his portfolio, but the scores of initiatives that look to his actions as minister to survive.

With his election on May 10 and appointment on May 15, Mr Pintard assumed responsibility of one of the most unique and complex portfolios in public administration.

When asked about his immediate work since taking office Mr Pintard told The Tribune: “It has been all about listening and familiarisation. That is what it has been all about. We have hit the ground running, started conversations with various federations, met with staff throughout the ministry across the country, met with sporting bodies.

“There is a uniqueness to all we have encountered and interacted with and that uniqueness, understanding that is critical to the job we are going to do moving forward. This comes as we have to keep things moving and as we look to ensure that activities planned for and worked toward happen as they were always meant to. But it has been a whirlwind.”

Those that follow Fourth Quarter Press and my efforts across social media know I don’t hold back with my opinion and beliefs. In this instance, my actions have not swayed.

On the day of his appointment, in a podcast for the 10thYearSeniors network, I admitted that I wasn’t too thrilled with appointment of Mr Pintard and went on to list several reasons why.

As I pointed out in that forum, my issue wasn’t with Mr Pintard himself or his wealth of skills in the arenas of culture and youth development - areas I am sure in which he would flourish. My animosity arose because I believe that the new FNM government passed over several more qualified sporting candidates in order to name Mr Pintard.

I went on to call for a separation, again, of the Department of Sports from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, ultimately allowing for a more hands-on approach to what I consider one of the most critical portfolios to nation building.

While I have not swayed away from this principle in recent days, I have, however, backed off my issues with Mr Pintard overseeing sports.

During my interview with Mr Pintard, I was firstly impressed by the passion he presented and, secondly, and more importantly, the level of insight presented by a man only occupying the post for a few days.

In fact, it was in response to a question concerning junior athletes and their treatment that really struck a nerve with me.

“We, as a country, have not done a good of job of empowering these young athletes in their efforts to make a bigger and better name for this country,” he told me. “As a country, we have to work to provide the right infrastructure for our junior athletes because they work so incredibly hard for this country.

“They should never be placed in a position where they have to question the support of the state, their scholastic future or even their medical wellbeing in times of need. They deserve a level of comfort in those aspects and we have to give that to them,” Mr Pintard said.

I hope readers will grasp the full understanding and the scope of those three paragraphs.

The Bahamas, as a country and sporting power, was built on the handiwork and dedication of young Bahamians who, despite their initial upbringing, persevere and make it their life work to achieve greatness.

From the time of Sir Lynden Pindling and many of those first generation Bahamians, the ideals of this country were established on the back of youth taking aim at reality and saying ‘despite my setbacks and my size, I will not relent until I get all that I came for and more’.

From the days of Majority Rule to any days of any of our country’s sporting triumphs, that has always been the mantra.

Now to have a minister come in from day one and say firmly, we want to give kids of this ilk a level of unrequited support, how can one not adopt a wait-and-see approach?

Maybe it’s because he is from Freeport, a town long starved in the shadows of Nassau; or maybe that he’s of the arts, a sector of societal development often overlooked; or it can even be his long-suffering political career, being beaten twice only to finally be successful on his third attempt. It can be any of these three things that drives Mr Pintard to openly admit that sports, and to a larger extent, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture has always been getting by on the continued efforts of those it benefits and not as a result of the efforts of those pegged to run it.

Whatever it is, I am of the view that the perseverance showed by Mr Pintard in all other aspects of his public life is exactly what we need at the helm of sports now.

• Ricardo Wells writes Fourth Quarter Press every Monday. Comments to rwells@tribunemedia.net