It is with deep sadness that I learnt of the passing on Monday, 4 October 1999, of Frank Rampersad, national of Trinidad and Tobago and committed citizen of the Caribbean Community.
An economist by profession, Frank Rampersad, with whom I had the pleasure of working for a short time at the Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Office, was of the generation of regional integrationists which included the late William Demas, with whom he laboured in various national and regional organisations for the improvement in the lives of the peoples of our Region. Indeed, Frank once said to me that William [Demas] was the only person who made him feel guilty when he was “leaving the office for home at 6.00 o’clock on a Sunday afternoon.” Frank shot to prominence as one of Trinidad and Tobago’s leading economists while at the Central Statistical Office. Strong in numeracy and quantification, he grew in his long career in the public service to highlight in his work the vital link between economic and social development.
He served both his country and his Community with dedication and dignity. Whether it was as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Member of the National Economic Advisory Committee, President of the National Institute of Higher Education (Research, Science and Technology) (NIHERST), or Chairman of British West Indian Airways (BWIA) Limited in his home country; or as Director of Economic Affairs of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Chairman of the UNCTAD Expert Group on Special Arrangements for Least Developed Countries, Member of the Commonwealth Expert Group on Venture Capital Fund or Chairman of the Technical Committee on the Caribbean Basin Initiative, Frank Rampersad will always be remembered for his incisive contributions and pragmatic approach to the issues he confronted.
We in the Caribbean Community are particularly grateful for his valued contributions to regional development in his capacity as a Member of the Independent West Indian Commission whose recommendations to CARICOM Heads of Government were instrumental in restructuring the Organs and Institutions of the Caribbean Community and in facilitating the establishment of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. His contributions as Coordinator of the Regional Economic Conference, as Chairman of the Technical Committee on Regional Air Transportation Services, as Coordinator of the University Centre Project and as Chairman of the University of the West Indies Advisory Committee emphasise how valuable he was to the progress of the regional integration movement.
The Staff of the CARICOM Secretariat join me in extending to his wife Sheila and the other members of his family, our deepest sympathy at the passing of this true Caribbean son. He and the members of his generation have laid the foundation for the economic and social development of our Region. We owe it to him – and to those who share that vision – to continue to work towards the sustainable development of our Region and its peoples.
