BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Prime Minister Mia Mottley, on Wednesday, announced a Cabinet replacement after she said she had accepted a request from Dwight Sutherland to be relieved of his ministerial portfolio in Housing, Lands, and Maintenance.
In a short statement, she said that he will remain as Member of Parliament for Saint George South and that his request to be removed from the Cabinet was due to “personal reasons”.
Mottley said that she has since asked the President of Barbados to appoint Christopher Gibbs, Member of Parliament for Saint Michael West, as the new Minister of Housing, Lands, and Maintenance, effective Thursday.
“I thank you for your attention, and I’d like to thank both the Honourable Dwight Sutherland for his service to the Government, while at the same time looking forward to working with The Honourable Christopher Gibbs in this new portfolio,” she told the nation.
Mottley’s Barbados Labour Party (BLP) enjoys a 29-to-one seat majority in the Parliament.
Political analyst Peter Wickham said the resignation is surprising, noting that the government “is coming off a high” after successfully staging the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA), which ended last weekend.
“This is not the type of news you expect. Whenever a minister resigns, it sends a shockwave through the government, and I think it is no different now,” he said, adding, “The question arises whether he jumped or was pushed.
“Indeed, the reason for either jumping or pushing…those details we are not likely to know and probably will never know, but the most important thing is that he has indicated he is still interested in politics…”
Wickham said there are many examples of government ministers resigning in Barbados and returning later to have a successful career, “so we don’t know if this will be a temporary or long-term…his seat is relatively safe”.
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