$5m to upgrade USP facilities

An artist’s impression of the proposed Solomon Islands’ campus. The new campus is expected to be constructed opposite King George School in Honiara to cater for the growing number of students. Picture: USP SPAC

By DIPESH KUMAR

THE University of the South Pacific can expect improved facilities after Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Pal Ahluwalia confirmed at least $5 million would be invested in deferred maintenance works this year.

During the USP Vice-Chancellor and President’s Forum on September 13 last year at Laucala campus, Prof Ahluwalia said deferred maintenance works and improving the state of some campuses and facilities topped the list of priorities for the University.

He said this did not mean USP was out of the woods in terms of its financial standing.

“It just means we are starting to address a very long-standing issue at the University,” he said.

“Although our income has slipped, we are not in any financial crisis. We are managing our finances well.”

Prof Ahluwalia previously told Wansolwara that a lot of maintenance works had been deferred.

“Some of our regional campuses like the Solomon Islands are in critical condition, so we need to fix those things, but there are other campuses which also needs investments, like Alafua.

“There is only a fixed amount of money, and it’s how we distribute the money and how we make sure we maintain the estate we have.

“If we don’t invest in it, it keeps getting worse. So it’s clearly imperative that we have to invest. It’s what speed and at what rate we can do that.

“We have to do it in a sustainable way,” he had said.

The forum provided a platform for staff members to raise issues regarding the overall operations of the University.

And while the USP community and stakeholders were rocked by recent allegations of abuse of office levelled against some senior management and former vice-chancellor Professor Rajesh Chandra, Prof Ahluwalia said the council-appointed commission would deal with the issues.

“I have to take faith and put trust in the council and if I am helping in any way, (I would) tell staff that they should trust that process,” he said.

“I wanted to draw a line so that the future is where we are going. I absolutely understand where people are coming from but it’s not a decision I control. It’s a council decision.”

*This story appeared in the Wansolwara 2019 Issue II edition, published as an insert by the Fiji Sun last November.