The United Progressive Party has defended its record and plans for tertiary education while raising ethical and financial concerns about a proposal for The University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus to rent property owned by the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party.
In a strongly worded statement, the UPP accused Foreign Affairs Minister and ABLP Chairman E.P. Chet Greene of misrepresenting criticism surrounding the university’s expansion and suggested his defence of the proposed rental arrangement was influenced by the financial benefit to his party.
The statement followed concerns raised by Nicolette Lewis about reported plans to use the ABLP-owned property to accommodate classes for UWI Five Islands’ growing law programme.
According to the UPP, Lewis expressed those concerns as a citizen and not in any official political capacity. The party said she welcomed the university’s continued development but asked legitimate questions about long-term planning, available space and the proposed rental arrangement.
“UWI is growing which is something we welcome and the introduction of the Law programme is another important step in that growth,” the statement quoted Lewis as writing.
The UPP rejected suggestions that either Lewis or the party opposed the growth of UWI Five Islands or expanded access to higher education.
It said its own tertiary-education vision predated the Browne Administration and involved creating a “University Village” at Coolidge that would incorporate several existing institutions, including Antigua State College, the Antigua and Barbuda International Institute of Technology and the Antigua and Barbuda Hospitality Training Institute.
The party said the former Spencer Administration was also open to establishing a landed UWI campus in Antigua and Barbuda. It claimed those plans were contained in a formal document inherited by former Education Minister Michael Browne when the ABLP entered office in 2014.
According to the statement, the proposed Coolidge development would have benefited from approximately 154 acres of land associated with the former United States military base. The UPP argued that the location could have accommodated additional faculties, student facilities, parking and future expansion.
The party also revisited the controversy surrounding the Five Islands property, maintaining that the facility was constructed under the UPP administration as a modern secondary school to reduce overcrowding at urban schools and improve teaching and learning conditions.
It said UWI served as a consultant on the Basic Education Project II, which recommended the construction of two schools, one at Five Islands and another at Tomlinsons.
The UPP insisted that its objection was never to the establishment of a UWI campus but to the conversion of what it described as a purpose-built secondary school.
It further argued that the Five Islands site had already experienced space limitations before its conversion into a university campus, prompting the former administration to acquire additional private land.
The party reserved its strongest criticism for the reported proposal that UWI Five Islands rent the Labour Party’s property for approximately EC$26,000 per month to accommodate law classes.
It alleged that the arrangement would effectively channel public funds, including contributions from Opposition supporters, into the governing political party.
The UPP described the proposal as ethically and financially troubling and said it risked compromising the perceived political independence of the university.
The party also claimed that Greene’s position as ABLP chairman created a potential conflict of interest and questioned whether the proposed arrangement offered the best value for taxpayers.
“No amount of faux outrage and political posturing will make this odious plan acceptable,” the UPP declared.
The statement also criticised Greene’s performance as Foreign Affairs Minister, linking him to recent concerns about Antiguans and Barbudans’ access to United States visas.
The UPP said citizens who contribute millions of dollars to support UWI have a legitimate interest in its success and should be allowed to question decisions concerning its growth and expenditure without being portrayed as opponents of education.
The statement did not include a response from Greene, the Labour Party or The UWI Five Islands Campus to the allegations surrounding the proposed rental arrangement.
Comment *I know this is not the same UPP that did not want UWI Five Islands in the first place 🤔
Since i started following Antigua.news all articles on UPP are just them being messy. Nothing positive to say or contribute. A set of empty barrels making a set of useless noise. Not to mention that Pringle fella.
Please speak the truth. The United Progressive Party (UPP) was never against having the University of the West Indies (UWI) Campus here in Antigua. They only objected to the location because the existing structures were originally built to be a secondary school. In fact, the UPP even suggested placing the UWI Campus at the former American Air Base in Coolidge. So tell me, how could they be against the university when they were actively proposing a better location for it?
UPP piss off! You were against UWI coming and are clearly jealous of it’s success. Did Gisele Isaac ever apologize for saying UWI is lowering its brand by bringing tertiary education to our doorstep? Losers!
You only remember what Gisele Isaac said, but you completely forget that the UPP had already drafted the proposal to bring a university to Antigua and Barbuda. Michael Brown knew all about that draft proposal because he used to work in the Ministry of Education. The Ministry granted him a scholarship to go overseas and study, just like any other Antiguan and Barbudan. Let him come forward and deny it if he has the balls—by the way, he is a liar just like his political master. I worked in the Ministry with him, and he knows he cannot lie, or else I will expose him completely.
I’m tired of all the political noise, for true. 😂 Whether it’s UWI or another plan, young people need affordable tertiary education and real opportunities to move forward.
That UPP need to go and reset and stop making noise. Nobody hearing yall. Washed up politicans.
We just want the school expanded. That is all that is all that is all
The United Progressive Party (UPP) was never against establishing a University of the West Indies (UWI) Five Islands Campus in Antigua; rather, they objected specifically to its location. Michael Brown worked within the Ministry of Education during the UPP’s tenure and was well aware that the administration was actively drafting a proposal to introduce a university to Antigua and Barbuda. It seems the public has forgotten that the UPP actually initiated this process. Because governance is continuous, when the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) took office, they simply revised, implemented, and executed the draft proposal started by the UPP.
Furthermore, Michael Brown knew about the original proposals for two secondary schools—one to be built in Five Islands and the other at Tomlinson’s—because he worked in the Ministry of Education before pursuing his studies overseas and returning to politics. The citizens of Antigua and Barbuda deserve to know who originated these ideas, not just who executed them. I am tired of the constant political back-and-forth over who deserves the credit, especially when the true originators are ignored. Ultimately, the former Antigua Air Station would have been a far better location for the UWI Campus.
Interesting point of view