UWI reinvigorates finances
Published:Tuesday | August 6, 2024 | 12:13 AMEdmond Campbell/Senior Staff Reporter
The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, has reversed a deficit of $1.7 billion last year to a surplus of $350 million year-to-date.
This was disclosed by Professor Densil Williams, principal of The UWI, during a forum last week at the institution dubbed, ‘A reasoning with Orette Bruce Golding’ on the constitutional reform process.
“Last year this time, which is year-to-date, The UWI had made a deficit on its profit and loss in the sum of about $1.7 billion,” said Williams, noting the university’s conversion of the deficit to a profit.
He told The Gleaner that The UWI is expected to end the financial year with a surplus as well.
Williams noted that the end-of-the-financial year surplus is going to be contingent on whatever provisions are made which cannot be determined at this time.
He said The UWI has seen containment in terms of cost while the institution’s revenue increased by about 12 per cent. The UWI, Mona principal said the institution’s costs increased by a mere one per cent over the period, year-to-date.
“What has happened is that we have seen an increase in terms of revenue because we have looked at areas where we could gain more revenues from such as repricing of certain products, collecting of revenues that were not collected and we would have also seen an increase in government subvention,” he added.
Williams, who was appointed principal on August 1, 2023, told journalists during a press conference in January this year that the institution would pursue some critical short-term measures that formed part of a restructuring of the business processes and organisational design of The UWI, Mona, to derive greater levels of efficiency and to streamline the revenue-generating areas of the campus.
He said at the time that The UWI would also embark on a restructuring of its balance sheet, to free up more liquidity.
“We really hope that, having restructured our balance sheet within the very short term, we’re able to at least save about $400 million annually,” he said in January.
Additionally, the UWI principal said efforts would be made to monetise the institution’s physical assets to generate revenues and reduce cost. As an example, he pointed to the potential revitalisation of the housing stock at College Commons, which he said should save The UWI $100 million annually.
In addition to these short-term measures to increase the university’s liquidity, Williams said long-term projects to further enhance the university’s position had been taking shape.