Mottley: Govt owes UWI $100m

ESTIMATING THAT the Government of Barbados now owes more than $100 million to the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus, former Education Minister Mia Mottley yesterday called for an “urgent, permanent solution” to the mounting debt problem.
She has suggested a mechanism that would see Barbadians repaying the bill footed by the Government if they go outside of CARICOM to live and work immediately after getting their degrees.
Mottley made the call and suggestion as she contributed to parliamentary debate on a resolution for a Government guarantee of a $41 million loan from the National Insurance Board to the campus – a loan she said was a mere drop in the bucket.
The St Michael North East MP said her information was that the Government owed between $50 million and $60 million in arrears, plus $60 million to $70 million for this financial year, and called on either Minister of Education Ronald Jones or Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler to disclose the exact figure.