Well-known businessman John Simon de Freitas has passed away in Madeira, Portugal at the age of 81, his family has confirmed.
De Freitas had played an important role in the Central Garage car dealership and had a high profile in business organisations such as the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI). He also served as a PNCR Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2001.
According to a biography provided by his family, upon his return to British Guiana in 1958 after his education at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, de Freitas began working at the family company, Central Garage. The company distributed Chevrolet, Buick, Vauxhall and Bedford cars and trucks and later Mercedes-Benz. They also sold Dunlop tyres and accessories, Exide batteries, Duco paints and polishes, General Electric refrigerators and spare parts with a department focused on Inventory control.
Prior to the 1960s, the biography said that the biggest problem was competition from the Bookers Garage Limited, as they had a large share of the economy within British Guiana. However, when General Motors subsequently stopped producing these types of vehicles in 1986, it affected the company’s profits.
The biography said that in the 1980s taxes on new vehicles were greatly increased thereby very few persons could afford to buy these vehicles and as such smuggling of second-hand vehicles from Japan became the norm and this unfair competition severely affected Central Garage.
“In the 1980s an expansion of the Company was planned, in which the service and spare parts departments would have been moved to a new location and the showroom would remain at the High Street location. Land was purchased at the Ruimveldt Industrial Site, Georgetown; however, the land was conscripted without compensation by former President of Guyana Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham. During this time, J. S. de Freitas continued to pay the property taxes. In mid 1980s the next president H. D. Hoyte compensated the de Freitas’ for the Ruimveldt land”, the biography said.
In 1997, Central Garage diversified its business to include an internet cafe at the High Street location. The cafe titled Central Net Surf allowed patrons to surf the internet, print, copy, scan, and provided other computer and internet related services. This venture, the brainchild of de Freitas continues today under new management.
The property and building at Lot 7-8 High Street, Georgetown were sold in 2011 to Ashok Narwani. Central Garage is still a registered company in Guyana.
The biography said that de Freitas served as a member of the Council of GCCI and as president for two years. During his presidency, the biography said that the Chamber was coming to terms with the IMF and the Economic Recovery Programme (ERP).
After Desmond Hoyte took the reins of power in 1986, talks between the government and GCCI recommenced when he reached out to the business community.
Around 1988, the biography said that de Freitas noticed a dramatic change in the atmosphere and noted that there were negotiations on the consumption tax and a compromise was reached as “… both parties realised the ultimate goal was the well-being of the country.”
In the arena of politics, the biography said that de Freitas was actively involved from the 1960s before Guyana gained independence. He was a member of the GUY, the youth arm of the United Force and in 1964 he campaigned for the party in several parts of the country. He left the party after Peter D’Aguiar parted ways with it and took a thirty-year hiatus from active politics.
In 1992, the biography said that then President Hoyte invited de Freitas to be a part of the ticket for the 1992 elections, which he declined. The biography said that de Freitas noted that as President of the GCCI he wrote the new President Dr. Cheddi Jagan congratulating him on his win in 1992 and assuring him of the cooperation of the Chamber. He later observed that positive steps were not being taken for the development of Guyana.
Subsequently he was again approached by former President Hoyte and as a result, in 1997 he ran on the ticket of the People’s National Congress (PNC). He subsequently served as an elected member of the Guyana Parliament from 1997 until 2001, when he migrated to Madeira. He never joined the PNC, but was a part of what later came to be formally termed the reform arm of the PNC – the PNC/R.
De Freitas also served as one of the original directors of Stabroek News.
