By Hon. E. P. Chet Greene

Nicolette Lewis’s recent piece, “The University Dilemma: This is why Planning Matters,” is furthest from being a sober analysis of national development; it is an ugly, clumsy political attack disguised as concern for good governance. Her article attempts to rewrite history, undermine a monumental national achievement and manufacture a controversy where none exists.

Below, I set out five points to rubbish her assertions and with her, all who continue to politicize a national development platform.
Lewis resurrects the tired UPP proposal of placing the UWI Five Islands Campus at the former US Air Force Base at Coolidge. This is pure fantasy. The idea that a sprawling, disjointed area across AUA, ABHTI and ABIIT would somehow magically accommodate the rapid, specific needs of a UWI campus is without merit. A university is not a strip mall; it requires a cohesive campus environment.

Her claim that expansion demands would be “no different” at Coolidge is laughable. The rapid growth of UWI Five Islands, which is a testament to its success, would have strained infrastructure anywhere. To suggest that Coolidge was a silver bullet that would have prevented the current need for temporary off-site classrooms is nothing short of delusional hindsight.

Lewis argues that “planning matters” and that the government should have anticipated the need for a Law programme. This is a classic case of demanding clairvoyance from leaders while ignoring the reality of institutional growth. The establishment of the UWI Five Islands Campus was a massive undertaking. The fact that it has grown so rapidly that it now requires additional space is not a failure of planning; it is a resounding success of execution. Universities are organic institutions. They evolve. The 2017 announcement of a $27 million Chinese grant for expansion proves that the government was planning for growth. Lewis conveniently ignores that the current expansion initiative is already addressing these very issues.

Lewis attempts to manufacture outrage over UWI renting premises owned by the ABLP. This is absurd. The ABLP built a modern, state of the art headquarters, a facility that stands as a monument to the party’s legacy and its commitment to national development.

Renting this facility to house students in a rapidly expanding Law programme is not a conflict of interest; it is a patriotic act of national service. The alternative of forcing students to learn in inadequate spaces or delaying the Law programme would be a dereliction of duty. The funds paid in rent are a standard commercial transaction for the use of any facility, owner not withstanding.

To suggest this compromises the university’s independence is to insult the integrity of UWI’s administration and to Brianne of the young law students.

Lewis claims that renting from a political party makes her “uncomfortable.” This is pure partisan posturing which cannot be masked enough for disguise. The reality is that UWI is a regional institution with robust governance structures. It is not a puppet of the ABLP.

The university needed space; a suitable, modern facility was available and a transparent, commercial arrangement was made. This is how the real world works. Lewis is trying to turn a routine real estate transaction into a constitutional crisis because her party, while in government lacked the vision to create this life changing opportunity for the young people of our country.

The core of Lewis’s article is nothing about planning or governance; it is about the UPP’s inability to accept that the ABLP has delivered the most significant educational development in Antigua and Barbuda since independence. The UPP’s position has always been to oppose UWI at Five Islands, not out of genuine concern for planning but because they do not want the ABLP to succeed.

Now that UWI is thriving and expanding, they are desperately trying to find a new angle to attack it.

Nicolette Lewis is asking the wrong questions. The question is not whether we planned perfectly for every eventuality but whether we are delivering for the youth of Antigua and Barbuda today and the answer is a resounding yes. UWI Five Islands is a success story. The temporary rental of the ABLP headquarters is a pragmatic solution to a good problem, the problem of success.

Instead of rubbishing the achievements of the government and the university, Lewis and her UPP cabal should be celebrating the fact that our young people now have more educational opportunities than ever before. It is time to stop playing petty politics with our nation’s future. Time to salute and celebrate our young people and the opportunities created with and for them. Let the young people breathe!