Latest update March 28th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jan 18, 2022 Letters
Dear Editor,
Kaieteur News – I write to pay tribute to Yesu Persaud. He was a self-made millionaire (in US $). The road to success for Yesu wasn’t easy. He was not born with a silver spoon like some youngsters of today.
He did not come from any business legacy. He achieved success through sheer commitment and dedication, grit, and acumen. His style of working was consultative and democratic and he embraced fresh, innovative ideas. He made it big by building a business, brick by brick, “dutty by dutty”.
Yesu was a great visionary. He was a leader with determination to translate his vision into reality. After the end of socialism in Guyana, he became the most famous businessman. And he is often referred to as the doyen of Indian business community. His effective and passionate leadership transformed the DDL into a magnificent success and now a conglomerate involved in banking, juicing or agro-processing, electricity generation, in addition to spirit manufacturing. His perseverance and vision have helped him to set up a massive empire and claim success at international business platforms. He is a true inspiration for budding entrepreneurs as his optimistic approach has led to the outstanding growth of DDL.
I did not know of Yesu, as he was popularly known, long after I departed Guyana in 1977 to pursue tertiary education. Like others in the diaspora, I read of and about Yesu when I was a teenager and didn’t get to meet him until the late-1980s when I was chosen by a committee to liaise with him in organizing the New York commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of Indian Arrival in Guyana. I found him affable, warm, and friendly. Yesu and I met countless times thereafter in Guyana, Trinidad, NY, India, and elsewhere at international conferences on Indian Immigration, conversing on varied interesting pertinent topics of the times — such as Guyana and Caribbean economies, PNC dictatorship, Gorbachev reforms, Indian economic reforms, Indian culture, free and fair election in Guyana, etc. He interviewed me a couple of times on a TV programme, which he hosted.
He was praiseworthy of then (early 1990s) Indian Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao and Finance Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh (who went on to become PM from 2004 to 2014) for opening the Indian economy. Yesu also praised Desmond Hoyte for the 1988 economic reforms in Guyana that set the train for political reforms and the restoration of democratic governance that came in late 1992.
Hoyte and Yesu fell out when Yesu joined the struggle for the advocacy of restoration of democratic rule in Guyana and helped formed GUARD. Yesu’s life was threatened and his house was fired upon with bullets, almost injuring him. He was a small built man, just about 5 feet but he had a giant reputation and character. He was soft spoken but had fierce body language and huge stature. He was tough and courageous for taking on Burnham, Jagan, and Hoyte to redirect Guyana’ economy towards free enterprise away from communist control. And he succeeded. Guyana is no longer a communist state (government directed and controlled economy). Guyana is also a democracy and Yesu played an important role in that outcome joining the struggle against the dictatorship and in Jagan becoming President in 1992. He supported Bharrat Jagdeo when he was chosen as President. In September 1999, Yesu was given the honour of introducing a young President Jagdeo at an Indian conference at the Crowne Plaza hotel ballroom in Elmhurst, Queens. He showered accolades on Jagdeo. He played a role in the undoing of the Ramotar administration in late 2014 and the rise of the coalition to office in 2015. He also was critical of the efforts to rig the 2020 general elections, urging David Granger to respect the will of the electorate.
Yesu studied accounting (in UK) and worked his way up in management in Guyana in the government (during the colonial and post-independence periods) and private sector to become an iconic business entrepreneur. It was not easy to be an Indian (in a racially divided Guyana characterized by ethnic animosity) and a businessperson in Guyana during the colonial era and moreso post-independence during the Burnham/Hoyte eras. Yesu overcame all those adversities associated with colour, caste, class, ethnicity, and politics to become a successful entrepreneur. That he manoeuvred Burnham’s dictatorship and consolidated his businesses and kept them in the forefront of Guyana industries was an outstanding achievement.
As business folks told me, he was not a greedy, self-centered person as characterized some new business persons. In his time as a prosperous caption of industry, he wanted business to grow. He did not destroy other businesses so his company could succeed. He was in business for self-wealth as well as to help others. He was helpful to many businesses. As an illustration, his IPED loans allowed many small budding entrepreneurs to get into business. Giving loans is a lot more effective than giving cash grants, which leads to a dependency syndrome rather than financial independence. He helped ordinary people who had ambition and an idea with financial resources. He gave them loans and supporting officers to streamline their business to make it work.
People came with a passion with an idea and he helped them make it happen. IPED made money through its interest rates and the small businesses also made money. IPED had to pay for expenses, maintaining staff, etc. And he encouraged farmers to grow fruit crops. He bought cherries and other fruits from them which his DDL company processed into fruit pulps for packaging juice sold domestically and regionally earning critical foreign exchange.
Yesu is widely admired for his personal conduct, simple lifestyle, and leadership, transformed the business arena in terms of innovation and entrepreneurship. He is a role model for others. Aspiring business people looking for inspiration would do well to study the achievements of Guyana’s greatest businessmen.
Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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