After an assessment from July 1, 2018 to January 2021 found various anomalies in the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture, police questioned former minister Lanisha Rolle and her husband.
Clayton Fernander, Police Commissioner, said, “Yes, they are being questioned.” The interrogation began on Tuesday.
“You know what was circulating in the media,” the Police Commissioner stated. We’re talking to them now”.
In November, media reported that the former minister was under police investigation for the government probe. Deputy Commissioner of Police Leamond Deleveaux later rejected those allegations, claiming the police were investigating government “irregularities.”
After Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis locked down the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture, Mrs. Rolle resigned from Cabinet for “personal reasons” in February 2021.
The media stated that ministry officials and the National Sports Authority board had raised concerns with Dr. Minnis about processes and procedures not being followed.
An audit by the Auditor General, which was tabled before the House of Assembly in November 2021, found “poor maintenance practices at the agency, inadequate inventory controls and boards that were not able to carry out the tasks of the authority, among other things”.
The study also discovered a contract given without Cabinet permission and cheques to contractors made out to named persons, not firms, and collected by a senior Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture employee.
The former government minister has denied any wrongdoing, telling reporters that she thought the truth would be disclosed.
“I resigned from Cabinet on February 23, 2021, and we are here today. Latest November, she added, “I recall the last official audit report disclosed, to my awareness, that the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture accounts [were] fairly kept.”
I didn’t hear about another audit or probe, so we’re here. I trust police. I’m a cop. I served the nation for 11 years. Cabinet. MP. As a court officer, I trust that due process, the rule of law, and justice will prevail. I trust God.”
