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October 2009
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Graduation 2009 Honoree: At the service of my brother
Mr Persaud is one of five persons receiving honorary degrees from The UWI this month, and UWI Today sought some of his perspectives. Growing up on a sugar estate, the influences were different. Like me, most of the children grew up in surroundings of logies where all the people lived together, and whenever there was a religious ceremony or celebration everyone took part. This brought people closer together, despite the fact that they belonged to different religions and were of different races. I loved going to school. I wouldn’t consider myself extremely bright but a little above average. I was one of the only two youngsters to have passed the school leaving examination at the time. The other youngster resided in Georgetown and I on the East Bank of Demerara. My parents, although they could not afford it, tried to give me the best. What were its strongest influences? My father, who was of strong character, my mother who was always kind and gentle, and my Nana, who was a very religious man and who inculcated in us that we must always be good to people and to respect everyone. Every Sunday night he would read extracts from the Ramayan or the Mahabarrat or tell us stories from great Indian classics. What was the philosophy surrounding the founding of the Institute of Private Enterprise Development? Mr Forbes Burnham, former President of Guyana, introduced Marxism and Communism in Guyana in the early 1970s. In 1975 the company I was working for; Sandbach Parker was taken over by the State and the following year Bookers, which was the largest company in the country was also nationalised. There were some good policies and some bad policies. By 1980, Guyana was bankrupt. The nationalised industries started to fail, production declined, unemployment multiplied and professional and skilled persons started to leave in large numbers. Mr Burnham passed away on August 6, 1985 and was succeeded by Mr Hugh Desmond Hoyte as President. President Hoyte came with a more enlightened overlook and under him the economy started to free up. The banking sectors opened up, imports previously banned were allowed in freely; gradually things started to improve. I had this concept of starting a private sector small and micro business so as to recreate the private sector, but it needed funding. I went to see President Hoyte and he was supportive. I was able to raise—though very difficult at the time— half a million dollars. I started appealing to various agencies overseas and I got help from CIDA [Canadian International Development Agency] a funding institution, and PADF (Pan American Development Foundation). The Executive Director of PADF had a look at my concept of creating jobs and felt it was worth backing. The rest is now history. Today, IPED is the only not-for-profit organisation in the Caribbean that has funded over 20,000 medium, small and micro entrepreneurs with over 70,000 loans valued in excess of $15 billion, creating over 30,000 jobs in the process. IPED is totally self-financing and covers the length and breadth of Guyana. I consider this, if I could say so myself, quite an achievement. From day one I insisted that the board of directors not be paid fees but that they work free, giving back something to the community. We have changed members of the board over the years and this remains to date. What has been the nature of your work at the University of Warwick’s Centre for Caribbean Studies? (The University awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2008.) I have been a fellow of the University of Warwick for the last 12 years or more. I have done a few lectures on the importance of small and micro businesses in developed countries. I have kept in close contact with the University over the years. From your experience as Chairman of the Caribbean Council for Europe, what would you say is the biggest challenge facing the Caribbean in the European context? In the late ’80s to late ’90s, I served as Chairman of the CCE. This group included such stalwarts of the day: Sydney Knox, Tommy Gatcliffe, Sir John Goddard, George Arzeno Brugal, Michael Ader, David Jessop and several others. We had many conferences in Trinidad, the Dominican Republic, Curaçao, London and Brussels, and through our many meetings were able to bring the Caribbean closer. We were instrumental in lobbying the European Union directly for a number of Caribbean products including Caribbean spirits and rice industries, resulting in a special funding for distilling companies in CARIFORUM. The biggest challenge facing the Caribbean in the European context is for us to become competitive in all the products and services we produce in the region. It’s easier said than done, but in a global economy there is need to produce quality products and services and deliver the same where, when and how needed at a competitive price. What are your major guiding principles, your personal code? To help those who cannot help themselves for as long as I can, wherever and however possible. What does the honorary doctorate from The UWI mean to you? I have received many honours over the years and to be bestowed with such an honour from The University of the West Indies in the Caribbean is a great honour for me; more so because the Caribbean is very dear to me as I have done an enormous amount for the region during what I consider difficult years. For more on Graduation 2009 please visit the official UWI Graduation website : http://sta.uwi.edu/graduation/ |
Yesu Persaud, a chartered accountant, has served as chairman of several organisations in Guyana, such as the Institute of Private Enterprise Development, Demerara Distillers Ltd., Demerara Bank Ltd and the Private Sector Commission. He has also been Chairman of the Caribbean Council for Europe. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RS A) & Companion of the Chartered Management Institute, and is well known for his philanthropic work. Born in October 1928 on Plantation Diamond to Maharanie and Sukhu (who was known as “Rock,” because he was one of the strongest men on the estate where he worked) he grew up with a strong sense of deprivation and hardship which shaped his acute focus on empowering others.