Member of Parliament for South East St. Ann, the PNP’s Lisa Hanna, is leaving representational politics.
The four term MP and Opposition Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs announced her departure in an August 9 letter to PNP President, Mark Golding.
The announcement is sending shockwaves through the 84-year-old opposition party.
Hanna, who was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2007, told Mr. Golding she believes it is important to pave new paths for the upcoming generation, and therefore she has decided to conclude her journey as a political representative.
The former culture minister has faced several challenges in her constituency; most notably high profile spats with her sitting councillors, one of who challenged her for the seat.
Hanna notes she remains available to continue as foreign affairs spokesperson through to the end of the current parliamentary term. She says she’s announcing her exit at this point to allow the constituency delegates of South East St. Ann enough time to select her successor.
Miss Hanna says for any organisation to survive it must be relevant to successive global environments and markets. She told her party leader the PNP must be responsive and change with the times, seeking modern approaches to getting things done.
Miss Hanna notes she believes those changes should not mean abandoning the core principles and mission, but rather, she says it means embracing modern communication, applying existing principles to 21st century challenges, empowering the next generation and attracting and retaining the right talent to get the job done.
Hanna has expressed gratitude to party veterans Dr. Peter Phillips, KD Knight, John Junor, Dr. Omar Davies and former Prime Ministers, PJ Patterson and Portia Simpson Miller who brought her into representational politics in 2007.
Hanna narrowly prevailed in the September 2020 General Election by just over 30 votes, after a magisterial recount in the traditional PNP stronghold of South East St. Ann.
She would go on to be defeated by Mark Golding that same year for the presidency of the Opposition Party.
Hanna is a former Minister of Youth and Culture, Miss World, Broadcaster and Communications Specialist.
