The following statement is issued by the vice-chancellor of The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Professor Sir Hilary Beckles.

The headline of the story originally published in the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper dated November 25, 2018, and subsequently carried by other regional media outlets addressing the vice-chancellor of the University of Glasgow’s admission that £200 million in fees, endowments and grants were received from Caribbean slave owners, and attributing reference to an “agreement” with the vice-chancellor of The UWI to repay the said sum, was inaccurate.

The universities are working through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) built upon the principle of “reparatory justice”, but there is no “agreement” about the repayment of £200 million to The UWI.

In good faith, the two universities, ever since the vice-chancellor of the University of Glasgow, Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, indicated that his university seeks to be excellent and ethical, have had excellent conversations about how the University of Glasgow can contribute to cleaning up the colonial legacies of slavery that are holding back the region. A working team has been established, which has made many reparatory justice submissions, but is yet to complete its deliberations.

IMAGE:

Rudolph Brown
Professor Sir Hilary Beckles