Chairman of the Demerara Distillers Group of Companies, Yesu Persaud has been awarded with an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the West Indies.

According to a press release, the award is in recognition of Persaud’s outstanding contribution to the development of business in Guyana and for his micro-credit initiatives mainly through the Institute of Private Enterprise and Development (IPED). Through the IPED initiative thousands of poor Guyanese have been empowered, the release said.

Yesu Persaud

Persaud was also given the award for his invaluable contributions to the restoration of democracy in Guyana. The release said that in 1990, Persaud was a leading member of GUARD, a civil rights organization which campaigned for free and fair elections in Guyana and freedom of the press. “He worked closely with President Carter and the Carter Centre in the monitoring of the 1992 General Elections in Guyana and tirelessly lobbied the American, Canadian and British Governments to assist in the restoration of democracy” locally.

This is the second Honorary Doctorate conferred on Persaud. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the UK-based University of Warwick, in July of 1998.