KINGSTON, Jamaica — Former Prime Minister PJ Patterson has lauded the political contributions of former Minister of Trade and Industry, the late Wills O Isaacs, a man he described as a “titan of Jamaican politics.”
Patterson, who was speaking at the University of the West Indies for the launch of his biography by Professor Dianne Austin-Broos: “Politics in an Island State: Wills O. Isaacs Jamaica’s Struggle for Development,” said the book is a “powerful tribute that resonates with the echoes of Jamaica’s journey to nationhood.”
In his speech, the former prime minister not only honoured Isaacs but also underscored the profound impact of their shared Hanoverian roots. Patterson declared the late Isaacs as “the ministerial grandfather of Jamaica’s tourism industry.”
“This accolade, far from mere sentiment, underscores Isaacs’ prescience in recognising the latent power of Jamaica’s natural assets; to fuel economic growth,” he said, further noting Isaacs’ contributions which, he said, “sought to provide for the demands of the domestic market and initiated the drive to build export manufacturing.”
Patterson’s oratory painted Isaacs as more than a political figure. It described him as “a man of the people, blessed with the ‘gift of gab for the common folk.’
“In a country still grappling with the legacy of colonialism, Isaacs emerged as a fierce advocate for self-governance and social equity,” Patterson shared.
The former prime minister went on to express gratitude to Professor Dianne Austin-Broos, for “crafting a work that stands shoulder to shoulder with the chronicles of Jamaica’s most revered statesmen, including the Right Excellent Norman Washington Manley and Bustamante himself.”