ABLP leader Gaston Browne

— Prime Minister Gaston Browne says the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) has no outstanding debt and is holding financial reserves, rejecting any suggestion that the party needs rental income from its headquarters to meet financial obligations.

Browne made the comments Saturday on the Browne and Browne Show while discussing the law programme currently operating from the ABLP headquarters and plans for it to return to the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus.

“The law programme, I’m told, will be going back to UWI next semester,” Browne said.

He said the party’s decision to accommodate the programme at its headquarters was not motivated by a need to generate money.

Browne said the ABLP has “no debt” and has accumulated a surplus held in cash and bonds.

His remarks came as he discussed the expansion of UWI Five Islands and the government’s push to increase access to tertiary education in Antigua and Barbuda.

Browne said the university’s latest intake was 587 students and that overall enrollment was approaching 2,000.

He said further expansion is planned over the next three years, including additional lecture facilities and student accommodation, as the campus seeks to attract more students from other Caribbean countries.

The prime minister presented the temporary use of the ABLP headquarters for the law programme as part of efforts to accommodate students while the university expands its facilities.

The transcript does not provide independently audited figures for the ABLP’s finances or specify the value of the cash and bonds Browne said the party holds. His statements about the party being debt-free and having reserves were claims made during the radio programme.

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: Leader Says ABLP Is Debt-Free and Holds Financial Reserves.