Bridgetown.
The Government of Barbados and the Opposition Barbados Labour Party are divided over a loan from the National Insurance Board, to the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI).
Minister of Education Ronald Jones, told Parliament yesterday that Government will repay $41 million the Cave Hill Campus borrowed from the National Insurance Board.
"The University of the West Indies received the $41 million already and the guarantee is to ensure the state pays the money back to the National Insurance Board", Jones said during the resolution to approve a Government guarantee of the loan.
He added it was a creative solution to paying some of the money owned by the Government to the UWI.
Former Minister of Education Mia Mottley described it as a contortion and inappropriate use of an instrument.
"We believe that this is not the right mechanism to pay the UWI the $41 million. A guarantee is only supposed to kick in if the person defaults but this guarantee here is intended for the Government to pay period, because the UWI does not owe the money"said Mottely.
