Premier Pamela Gordon's recent shuffle, The Royal Gazette profiles John Barritt, who has returned to Cabinet as Minister of Youth and Sport.

The after school care programme which enables primary students to take up supervised activities after normal school hours is set to be extended into middle schools.

Newly appointed Youth Development and Sports Minister John Barritt made the announcement during his first in-depth interview with The Royal Gazette since taking over the helm of the ministry two weeks ago.

And he also promised to continue the fight against drugs in sport.

"Something which the Premier is particularly keen to see is the question of after school care and what can be done to improve it and expand it into the middle school area,'' he said.

"It's something that's going to be an added focus with myself as minister.

"Middle school students are one group that we're not servicing and we are looking to set up a pilot project for this September at the middle school level to try and put programmes in place. It's going to be a challenge but there's a need there. It's needed not only for the student but also the parents.'' Mr. Barritt denied that the project illustrated that many parents were having to put in extra hours at work, holding down several low-paid jobs in a bid to make ends meet.

"I hear that, but I also see that today's woman also wants to go out and work,'' he said.

"Not many want to stay at home and look after the children. Before they have children they have their own careers and then they want to resume those careers. We have to try and meet their needs. For those who want to stay home, you hope they are doing it on the basis that they can afford it.

"But I see the trend going in another direction. People want to get out of the home and keep their careers.

"But I'm a proponent of trying to get children into these programmes so that they can interact with one another, even if the parents are at home. That's how we learn to get along.

"The more children interact with one another from an early age the better they get along with one another.'' Mr. Barritt's political career has see-sawed since he was elected as MP for Devonshire South at the last election. After a second spell as a backbencher he is clearly delighted to be back in the Cabinet.

And he strongly denies that his is a lightweight portfolio.

"I think it's vitally important and so does the Premier,'' he said. "She didn't have to sell me on that point when she asked me to serve as the Minister.

"Sport used to be a way of letting you build character and sadly it's now something that tends to reveal character and what's being revealed isn't always positive and good. I think we need to address that.'' When you consider his responsibilities it is easy to agree with him. As well as overseeing youth development and sport, the partner in law firm Appleby, Spurling and Kempe is also responsible for parks, recreation and legislative affairs.

Improving the variety and extent of after school care is one project that will no doubt prove popular with voters. But the new minister has also inherited two other major tasks which could prove more controversial -- the completion of the controversial National Stadium and the introduction of tougher drugs testing in sport.

Drugs testing is something he strongly believes in.

"The vast majority of people will embrace that as being the right thing to do,'' he said.

"Indeed 18 of 25 clubs have endorsed it and so have all the major sporting bodies. Now it comes to translating policy into action and some difficulty is encountered because its new and appears to some people as complicated.

"I think now we have to go forward to explain. We have got a booklet called Standard Operating Procedures and its not something that will be readily read and understood by every person.

"In essence, at the end of the day what you need to know is that if you are going to play for Bermuda at an international event, either overseas or here, you are going to be tested to make sure you're not using first of all illicit substances or performance enhancing drugs.

"Also if you're playing a sport in Bermuda which receives Government funding or uses Government facilities then you form part of a pool from which we will draw ten percent to randomly test.

"By that means we hope to encourage people not to abuse or use drugs. Already some people are saying, `well I can understand the national sport but what about the weekend sportsman, somebody who just does it for fun?' "I say we can't have two standards it's either the right thing to do or it isn't. We think it's the right thing to do and we've got to make that commitment.

"It's not going to be an easy change but we have to ask ourselves do we want a meaningful war or do we want a phony war on drugs and we think this is a meaningful way to do it.

"We want to send a message to kids and their parents that when you come to play sport in our facilities, they're a safe, drug free environment.

"There are going to be some difficulties but we have to keep it moving forward and work to get community acceptance and that's something I'll be working hard towards.'' Another project which will require Mr. Barritt's input is the completion of the National Stadium.

He candidly admitted there had been setbacks in the past, but added that he was committed to getting the facility up and running by the fall of 2001.'' Another responsibility that falls under his Ministry is the control of parks and open spaces -- a utility which he feels is not used enough by many.

"One of the things I'm keen to do having met with the parks people is to open up the parks to young people and get the message across to them that parks are a place for all people, not just for select groups like birdwatchers and people who commune with nature,'' he said.

"It's like a living classroom and they're also there for enjoyment and recreation. Once people use them they will see the value of having open spaces. These parks are not just for refuge and reconciliation but it makes for a more enjoyable lifestyle. They're not there to be looked at and preserved for future generations -- they're there to be used.'' A useful soccer player and cricketer in his youth, Mr. Barritt describes himself as a sports enthusiast, although, with such a busy schedule golf is the only activity he gets to practise these days. Will he find he has more time on his hands after the election? It is a question he answered candidly.

"If you're asking me if you think I'll still be the Minister for Youth Development, Sport, Parks and Recreation, that's not my decision,'' he said.

"If you're asking me if I think we'll win the election, we have an opportunity to win it or to lose it.'' SAFE FACILITIES -- John Barritt