Dear Editor,

I’ve been a long-time supporter of Lisa Hanna. I had hoped she would have had the chance to lead a Government, just to to see the possibilities with her vision, passion, and global outlook.

Hanna is a strategist with excellent communication skills; without strategy a vision cannot be executed and we struggle to make progress.

Around the globe we are seeing relatively young people emerging as prime ministers; the new Prime Minister of UK Rishi Sunak, for instance, is only 42 years old; Finland’s prime minister is a woman, 37-year-old Sanna Marin; New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Arden is respected globally for her brilliant leadership, especially during the pandemic and after terrorist attacks. Arden is 42 years old.

Rapid advances in technology and information systems have made leadership more accessible to younger individuals.

We are seeing younger, educated persons with sharp minds stepping up in leadership roles in business and Government as they embrace globalisation and take advantage of the tremendous benefits. Age, these days, is just a number, and gender is a social construct which does not define aptitude, agenda, or competence.

Hanna, a four-time Member of Parliament (MPs), former minister of Government, and now Opposition spokesperson on foreign affairs and foreign trade, is one of the most sought-after guest speakers from Jamaica. She was recently hosted in Africa where she delivered the keynote address at Wimbiz, a conference empowering women leaders across the continent, and some 2,000 women participated.

Hanna’s strengths lie in foreign relations and media. She has been honing these skills since 1993 when, at the young age of 18, she created history by winning the coveted Miss World title in South Africa and began travelling the world.

In 2015 Hanna led a delegation to Germany where Jamaica’s Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park was successfully recognised on UNESCO’s prestigious list of World Heritage Sites, the first for Jamaica and one of few in the region. Previous attempts by Government failed, and it took 10 years to finally achieve the UNESCO recognition.

Over the years Hanna has matured into a diplomat through years of extensive travelling and building relationships. I believe her negotiating skills could someday enhance Jamaica’s foreign policy and trade relations.

Hanna’s newspaper columns are varied and well researched as she attempts to stimulate discussion which, hopefully, can find meaningful solutions to critical problems in Jamaica. She is one of the hardest-working MPs in the country, it did not surprise when she came out on top of a poll assessing performance of Opposition MPs. This despite the disaccord and discontent reported in her constituency, which also has a history of being problematic. A leaked People’s National Party (PNP) poll showed that party members felt that Hanna was best suited to lead the PNP, delegates, however, voted otherwise in the last leadership election.

Hanna is one of the youngest people to be elected to the Jamaican Parliament. She has used her relative youth and relatability to amass one of the largest following on social media for a politician, not far behind that of the prime minister. Hanna could someday tap into this to her advantage.

Indeed, it was surprising when she announced her exit from representational politics, although one could empathise as politics can be an exhausting blood sport.

Just recently Hanna received the Outside the Box Stakeholder Appreciation and Recognition (SARA) award from the US Embassy for boldly using advocacy and voice on platforms “to advance the uplifting of Jamaican at-risk youth out of poverty and crime as well as for highlighting crucial solutions to address mental health awareness and its impact on violence and child development”.

No one is perfect, and we will never find perfection amongst politicians. We strive to find the right balance of expertise, vision, and aptitude in elected representatives. We must also learn to appreciate the best among us and use them to our maximum advantage before we lose full access.

P Chin

chin_p@yahoo.com