The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda during his speech on Feb 21, at a meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee of the UWI said The UWI Fourth Landed Campus is to become a reality in less than seven months and could open its doors in September 2019.
It is expected that some 4,000 students will be enrolled by September and that the numbers will continue to climb as the Campus delivers on its objectives, said PM Browne during his speech.
Government will work closely with officials of the UWI, to complete all the necessary steps for the establishment of a campus that prepares our youth for leadership roles.
PM Browne said that government chose three separate paths for raising that funds for UWI campus
1. Antigua CIP Fund
First, the Cabinet examined the non-tax revenue route.
A decision was taken to raise US$150,000 per family, applying for Antigua and Barbuda citizenship, through our Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP).
The Antigua and Barbuda CIP fund is called the University of The West Indies, Antigua Campus Fund.
A new drive at the CIP Unit, projects that the UWI Fund will begin to attract enough to make a difference when the marketing plan is fully geared-up. If even ten applicants per year are successful, the amount collected would be US$1,500,000
“I believe that this is one way by which the OECS countries with CIP programmes could collaborate to fund this campus. They could allocate a percentage or a flat amount towards the fees at UWI. It will be a shared cost to alleviate the burden on our students.” said Browne
2. Tax on Profits of companies
The second source of financing for the UWI Fund is a 10% tax on the windfall profits of telecommunications companies, insurance companies, financial institutions, and the sole petroleum storage and distribution company in Antigua. It is a windfall tax because the increase in income and profits which these firms enjoy is the result of recent government policies.
The tax is expected to raise up to $15 million dollars annually and it will be imposed for 24 months in the first instance.
With the addition of the fourth landed campus, I am confident that the rates of economic growth will increase, expanding business and swelling profits for the very companies that are now asked to contribute a 10% windfall tax.
As Sir Hillary indicated, Antigua and Barbuda has consistently registered economic growth in excess of 4.5 – 5 percent over the last four years. In 2018, we posted a growth rate of 5.3 percent – the highest in the hemisphere. Notwithstanding our vulnerabilities, our high debt to GDP ratio; and despite the plethora of challenges we inherited four and a half years ago, we have been able to enjoy strong and sustainable rates of growth. As a result, businesses are doing better.
3. Scholarship Fund
The third source of funding will come from money the Government of Antigua and Barbuda now spends on higher education. This money includes more than $20 million annually from the Prime Minister’s Scholarship Fund, all of which is grant; none of it is repaid.
The Board of Education also provides scholarships and our government also extends loans to students, totaling $2 million annually to enable their attendance at universities abroad.
It is my Government’s intention to divert a significant portion of the Prime Minister’s Scholarship Fund and the Board of Education grant funding which will likely total more than $15 million annually.
These three sources of funds should provide the initial resources than the UWI Fourth Campus will require, in order to meet its financial obligations, and to be a success.
These funding sources will be revised in subsequent years in order to ensure sufficiency.
About UWI Campus
The University of the West Indies (UWI), is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean. The aim of the university is to help ‘unlock the potential for economic and cultural growth’ in the West Indies, thus allowing improved regional autonomy.
The University has produced students who have excelled in a number of disciplines such as the arts and sciences, business, politics, and sports.
Notable alumni and faculty include
- 3 UWI (Mona) Nobel Laureates,
- 72 Rhodes Scholars,
- 3 Gates Cambridge Scholarship winners,
- 18 current or former Caribbean Heads of Government, and
- 1 Olympic medallist.
The university’s cricket team previously participated in West Indian domestic cricket, but now participates as part of a Combined Campuses and Colleges team.
Several prime ministers and heads of government were graduates of UWI campus:
- Kenny Anthony, former prime minister of St. Lucia
- Owen Arthur, former prime minister of Barbados
- Dean Barrow, prime minister of Belize
- Denzil Douglas, former prime minister of St. Kitts & Nevis
- Rufus Ewing, premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands
- Bruce Golding, former prime minister of Jamaica
- Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- David A. Granger, president of Guyana
- Andrew Holness, prime minister of Jamaica
- Patrick Manning, former prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago
- Hubert Minnis, prime minister of The Bahamas
- Keith Mitchell, prime minister of Grenada
- Joseph Walcott Parry, former premier of Nevis
- P. J. Patterson, former prime minister of Jamaica
- Kamla Persad-Bissessar, first female prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago
- Keith Rowley: prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago
- Keith Rowley: prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago
- Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, former prime minister of Barbados
- Kennedy A. Simmonds, former prime minister of St. Kitts & Nevis
- Orlando Smith, chief minister of the British Virgin Islands
- Freundel Stuart, former prime minister of Barbados
- David Thompson, former prime minister of Barbados
