NASSAU, Bahamas – Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Lanisha Rolle has resigned as a Minister in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis, but speculation is rife that she was actually forced to resign. The speculation centers around a revelation in the official Cabinet Office statement confirming Mrs. Rolle’s resignation and declaring that “certain matters have been brought to the attention of the prime minister and are under investigation.”
“Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has accepted Mrs Rolle’s resignation,” the Cabinet Office statement continued. “The prime minister thanks Mrs Rolle for her service. The prime minister has advised His Excellency the Governor General to appoint Iram Lewis as substantive minister of youth, sports and culture. Mr Lewis will demit his post as minister of state in the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness, Management and Reconstruction, which remains under the ministerial portfolio of the prime minister.”
Mrs. Rolle announced her resignation Tuesday morning in a letter sent to Governor General Cornelius A. Smith, but said she intends to serve out the remainder of her term as the Seabreeze Member of Parliament.
“The contract I signed with the voters of Seabreeze on election day was for a period of five years or until or unless a new Member of Parliament is seated,” Mrs. Rolle said in her resignation letter. “Therefore, I remain focused and committed to fully performing my part of the contract. I vowed to represent the Seabreeze constituency as the sitting Member of Parliament for Seabreeze, and I will continue to keep my word to do the best that I can for as many as I can for as long as I can.”
