The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

LYNDEN Maycock, the CEO of the Local Organising Committee of the 2023 CARIFTA Games, insists he provided accurate figures when he discussed the price tag for the CARIFTA games at an Office of the Prime Minister press conference last week.

Mr Maycock told reporters $3.5m had been spent on operational matters, $2.5m “on the capital side”, and $3m on resurfacing the surfaces of the old and new Thomas A Robinson stadiums.

However, the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture later said Mr Maycock was wrong and that only $839k was spent on resurfacing.

Yesterday, Mr Maycock said the divergent figures represent the different accounting reporting methods used.

“The ministry would have made a statement on a cash basis,” he said. “My statement was on an accrual basis.”

He defended the investment. 

“We have legacy work that would have taken place with respect to capital works,” he said. “We have legacy work that will continue all the way to the World Relays. It started with the Carifta Games, then will continue with the Bahama Games and will be used for the World Relays and for ongoing events that will be used at the national stadium. So it’s not money that was spent only for the CARIFTA games, it’s money that was spent or will be spent for events that will be happening ongoing for the people of The Bahamas.”

“When we came here in September of last year, we were starting from ground zero. If you would’ve come to the stadium you would see the deplorable state that this stadium was in when we came here in September. The stadium was in a total mess. So we are now pretty much starting from ground zero. The stadium was not maintained for the last seven years. Minimum maintenance was being done on this stadium in the last seven years and so we cannot allow persons to come internationally and the place look like a total mess.  That’s embarrassing to the country and as a Bahamian, I don’t want The Bahamas to be embarrassed.”