Recardo Frederick

We’ve written thousands of profiles, but this one still resonates. See why this Classic Man’s story refuses to fade into the background…

I tell you; Caribbean men are doing it in this era. I had the opportunity to meet our Classic Man at the 53^rd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Caribbean Development Bank. He serves as an Alternative Director, and as a member of the board, he is responsible for the general policy and direction of the operations of CDB. Alongside other members of the Board, he makes decisions concerning loans, guarantees and other investments by CDB, borrowing programmes, technical assistance and other operations of the Bank.

As Director of Planning for St. Vincent and the Grenadines he is responsible for overseeing various aspects related to planning, policy formulation, and development strategies. His work also involves economic planning and forecasting. He has the challenging job of analyzing economic indicators, monitoring trends, and assessing the impact of policies on economic growth, stability, and sustainability of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He collaborates with various stakeholders, including government agencies, international organizations, private sector entities, and civil society groups.

As the Director of Economic Planning, Ministry of Finance, he works closely with the Prime Minister, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves and the Minister of Finance, Camillo Gonsalves.

What a treat it was for me to dialogue with such an impressive man. I would like to introduce to the Toronto Caribbean Newspaper community, Mr. Recardo Frederick.

“I have a passion for solving problems, making people’s lives better and helping people.”

Recardo Frederick was born in St. Ann’s Jamaica. His father worked on a ship that shipped bauxite, and the story goes that his dad became friends with his uncles, and that is how he met Mr. Frederick’s mom. Not too long after, they left Jamaica and moved to Bequia (the island of the clouds). He was only a toddler at the time.

“I had a wonderful childhood,” Mr. Frederick shares with me. “I spent a lot of time with my grandmother. When we moved to Bequia, we stayed with her for a while until my dad built our house. I loved taking care of my grandmother, and I loved her powder milk shake and fried bakes. Being around my grandmother taught me a sense of responsibility, and a need to serve.

I had a lot of hobbies, and when I was growing up, I had a lot of jobs. I worked at a supermarket, I worked in construction, and I also fixed sails. I had summer jobs, and weekend jobs. It added again to my sense of responsibility.

I grew up in a Seventh Day Adventist home, and it was very strict; because of that I ended up going to Christian school. I was very passionate about people at a young age; I played: soccer, guitar, table tennis, and volleyball. My mom made sure that she kept myself and my three siblings very busy in church.

St. Vincent was the best place in the world to grow up. I always saw my father as being hardworking, and my mom supported me with my academics. I did a lot of hard work for my mother. She was a farmer, and I would go fishing on Sundays and help her sell her harvest.”

Mr. Frederick watched his sister become a nurse, and both of his brothers work on cruise ships, but there was always this desire to do more. His siblings decided to leave the island, but he stayed around because he thought his mother needed him.

“I applied for a job with the revenue office in Bequia. My first position was selling stamps; I was later promoted to a position in customs.

When I finished secondary school, I applied for a scholarship, and I got one to Southwest Texas State University. It was for a Bachelors Degree in Mathematics. While at university, I realized that I wanted to be a teacher but on my own terms. I ended up getting a second degree in Economics. I was only 23 when I graduated in 1993.

I came back to St. Vincent and returned to my job at the revenue office. I was then put into a job at the Prime Minister’s office as an admin cadet. After a while I was transferred to the Minister of Finances office, and this is when my career as an economist started.

I kept myself busy teaching seven different subjects in the evenings at schools. I did this for 25 years from 1993 – 2018. I taught mathematics at different levels, business management, civics/social studies, and helping students prepare for exams. I tutored and mentored a lot of people including one of our ambassadors, and a former commissioner of Police.”

He became part of a club called Rotaract. It was a young rotary, and he was the president. He had the opportunity to be a rotary ambassador and spent two months in the U.S. talking about the rotary and St. Vincent.

During that time, he received another scholarship from the European Union, to attend Nottingham University and complete his Masters Degree in Government Economics, and Policy Analysis. After completing his Masters, he returned back to St. Vincent, and was asked to be the country economist. He did this for five years, then was promoted to a Project Manager position in the Ministry of Finance. He worked in this senior position until 2018, and wouldn’t you know it, he received another scholarship from the Government of St. Vincent, and the Caribbean Development Bank to pursue, post grad studies in project management.

“In 2018 I got a huge promotion; I was asked to be the Director of Economic Planning in the Ministry of Finance. I was responsible for negotiating finance for the government, collection of statistics and publication of statistics, implementation of big projects, and preparation of National Budget for the Country.

I am Deputy Governor for St. Vincent at the World Bank, National Authorizing Office for the European Union National Designated Authority, I am on the Board of the Director at the Caribbean Bank, I just finished Director, and Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Caricom Development Fund, and I am the point of contact for the union agencies.”

During all this time, Mr. Frederick was dealing with life challenges, things that he does not speak about all the time.

“I was a single parent raising two kids, while I was doing all of this. It was challenging for me. I had a son and a daughter. It was hard with my daughter, because all I would know how to do is give it a brush, lol! I had to balance work, being a dad, teaching, and playing guitar in a band. It was hard, but I did have help.

I want to make a better life for people in St. Vincent. I love this country, I wasn’t born here, but I have made it my home. I want to see this nation transform, and I want the people to be happy. I am a certified Vincentian, through and through!”