Prime Minister Gaston Browne has defended the decision by The University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus to temporarily rent space at People’s Place for its newly launched law programme, rejecting opposition claims that the arrangement is improper.

Speaking on the Browne and Browne Show on Saturday, Browne said the facility is a commercial property owned by the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party and has been rented for weddings, graduations, dinners, conferences and other private functions for several years.

He said the approximately 10,000-square-foot building was never intended to function exclusively as a political headquarters.

“It is more than a party headquarters,” Browne said, explaining that a substantial portion of the building was specifically developed as commercial conference space capable of generating revenue to maintain the property.

The Prime Minister said UWI requires approximately 8,000 square feet, including the main conference area, smaller rooms for breakout sessions and supporting facilities.

More than 160 people reportedly applied to enter the university’s first law cohort. However, space and staffing limitations meant that just over 70 students could initially be accommodated.

Browne said People’s Place was selected because few other facilities could comfortably accommodate the students for an extended period while providing suitable classrooms, washrooms, air conditioning, a standby generator and breakout areas.

He said the property has been valued at approximately EC$9 million and estimated that its full commercial rental value could be about EC$64,000 monthly, based on a valuation of roughly EC$8 per square foot.

However, Browne maintained that UWI would not be charged the full commercial rate, or even half that amount.

“The price will be reduced significantly,” he said, describing the proposed arrangement as partially subsidised to support the law programme.

The final rental figure was not disclosed during the programme.

According to Browne, the alternative would have been to delay the law programme for one or two years while UWI Five Islands waits for additional teaching facilities to be constructed.

The campus is expected to benefit from a major expansion financed through an approximately EC$200 million loan from Saudi Arabia. Until those facilities are completed, Browne said the People’s Place arrangement would be temporary.

He suggested that UWI could occupy the building for approximately 18 months, although the period could change depending on the construction timetable.

“This was not done clandestinely,” Browne said. “It is a win for everybody.”

Critics have questioned the appropriateness of a publicly supported university renting space from a political party. Browne, however, insisted that the arrangement is transparent, financially favourable to UWI and necessary to avoid delaying educational opportunities for scores of students.