UWI principal challenges timekeeper Michael Williams to fix clock for free

UNIVERSITY of the West Indies (UWI) St Augustine campus principal Prof Rose-Marie Belle Antoine says timekeeper Michael Jay Williams is welcome to offer his services pro bono, in light of the institution's financial constraints.

Williams has repeatedly chastised the university for not repairing a broken clock on the campus in a series of letters published by Newsday.

On Friday, Antoine issued a written response to Williams, saying: "I have been informed that you have, for a number of years, been urging the UWI to give you the contract to fix and maintain this clock.

"I note from your earlier letters that your estimates to fix (without maintenance) is indeed far more than the $3,000 now being suggested and the overall cost is likely to be quite high.

"I should add that the UWI is a transparent organisation and operates a very strict competitive procurement and accounting system and all contractors must go through this process.

"It would therefore be improper and without integrity for any contract to be awarded to you on a personal basis outside of this process. Further, the UWI is now at a difficult time financially."

Antoine took note of comments made by Williams in a series of letters published by Newsday, one of which was addressed to her as an open letter, calling for a meeting while ridiculing the institution.

The 90-year-old Williams, who also served as president of the Senate from 1986-1990, charged that the "powers that be seem not to care whether the campus clock is giving the correct time; getting their salary seems all that matters.

He wrote in a letter in August, "The meagre cost (about $2,000) to relocate the controller was deemed unnecessary by the powers that be and UWI opted to maintain the status quo and the useless clock," he wrote.

In the subsequent open letter to Antoine, published on September 10, he said the problem would cost $3,000 to correct.

And again, Williams wrote a letter published by Newsday, in which he said he had given UWI a quote of $3,915 to fix the problem.

Williams is responsible for installing and/or restoring a number of prominent clocks around the country, including those at the Beacon Lighthouse in Port of Spain, St Michael's Church in Maracas Valley, the Arima Arch, and others.

In his August letter he wrote, "(Resetting the clock) surely is a task for a monkey and unless Dhun (Jason Dhun, UWI facilities manager) can find such a creature, the students, staff and principals at UWI may never see a functioning clock on their campus," adding that he had asked Dhun to assist "in remedying the elegant timepiece in the humanities building which overlooks the campus plaza."

The UWI’s campus clock has been redundant for half a century, he said, "or perhaps since installation."

Williams said after several visits, he advised that the clock controller was improperly installed and could not be serviced because of where it is situated.

Antoine, who was announced as the new campus principal on August 1, said she was briefed on the situation on taking office.

She said she was made aware that, in the past, "the East clock (not the West) has repeatedly malfunctioned and the UWI has had to fix it on these several occasions," but has also been advised that continuing to do so was impractical, given its location.

"Our engineers and technicians have advised that (its regular malfunction is because of its) placement which exposes it to adverse weather," she said.

"They have determined that this will continue to happen and that it may not be feasible to continue fixing it, given the regularity of the problem... Actually, as I speak, the two clocks are in fact working.

"When I did a walkabout some weeks ago, they were also working, so I am a bit puzzled at your concerns."

As for UWI's financial challenges, she noted the cut in government funding of over $50 million, "together with unpaid debts, lack of expected capital injections, less income, abortion of financial support for campus institutes; substantial de facto decrease in salaries and a huge bill to refurbish our plant after two years of covid19 pandemic lockdown and consequent disrepair.

"Given this state of affairs, as manager of the campus, I must be prudent in how I allocate scarce monies and resources for the campus and capital expenditure must be both necessary and investment conscious.

"Accordingly, this may not be the right time to be prioritising expenditure to correct the wrong time."

She then suggested that Williams, a UWI alumnus, consider offering his services free of charge.

"Notwithstanding the above, the UWI St Augustine campus is on a focssed alumni giving drive, which may be in cash and kind.

"If you could provide your clock and timekeeping expertise as a pro-bono alumni contribution to our beloved institution, we would be forever grateful."

UWI marketing and communications officer Vicky Khadoo-Ramsingh told Newsday there has been back-and-forth communication between Williams and Antoine. She said the university almost always avoids such public statements, and having treated Williams with respect, felt compelled to issue a "diplomatic public response."

Newsday tried unsuccessfully on Saturday to ascertain the estimates Williams gave to UWI, which Antoine said were "far more" than the $3,000 quoted in one of his letters, among other queries.

Khadoo-Ramsingh said she would pass on the queries to the relevant personnel and relay their response as quickly as possible. However, there was no response by time of publication.

Newsday was also unable to reach Williams for a response to Antoine's suggestion that he had been seeking a contract for years and whether he would consider offering his services to the cash-strapped institution for free.