Concessionaires at the University of the West Indies (UWI) St Augustine campus are upset over a directive from the university’s Commercialisation Office over the sale of a UWI-branded bottled water, which is expected to come on full stream this month. The directive, the concessionaires say, will force them to remove all other current brands of bottled water they sell to their clientele and replace them with the UWI-branded water.
Speaking with the T&T Guardian, one affected concessionaire, who wished not to be identified for fair of being victimised, was shocked at the demand, and said that students will not be denied their rights as consumers to choose their “usual” brand of water for consumption. “From what I know, that particular brand of water is not popular among students and it will be unfair for them to be buying that water under the UWI brand,” the businessman said.
The Guardian understands that the company which previously had the contract to provide UWI-branded water was SM Jaleel and Company Limited, which is located in Otaheite, South Oropouche.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between UWI and SM Jaleel on March 20, 2013 for the provision of that water to concessionaires at the St Augustine Campus. Present at that function from SM Jaleel were general manager, Head of Sales and Distribution Roger Bell and brand manager for Oasis Water Christopher Beepath.
The Oasis/UWI-branded water went on the shelves at UWI in February last year and was sold side by side with other brands of water. However, a new company, Crystal Water Limited, has been contracted to provide the water and under the new arrangement, concessionaires will allegedly only be allowed to sell the UWI-branded water provided by the company.
“Now, suddenly they want it to be the only water selling. Why? This must be so unfair to the students,” the concessionaire said. The concessionaire explained that they have been given a three-week period to deplete their current stock and to re-stock with the UWI-branded water by May 18. The instructions were given via a memo issued by UWI’s Commercialisation Office on April 23, 2015.
The UWI-branded water became available on Friday and will be centrally managed by the university. Concessionaires were asked to liaise directly with Central Stores to place orders for bottled water. All orders must specify the sizes, quantities and requested delivery dates. The bottled water sizes available are 350 ml and 650 ml at $18.85 and $32 per case respectively.
The concessionaire said they generally had no problem selling the UWI-branded water but believe they should be allowed to sell other brands alongside it, since all consumers like freedom of choice. He added that the move comes as tenants’ rental fees were also being increased. Some of the concessionaires, the T&T Guardian understands, now have to pay either double or three times the amount they were paying, some at over $20,000 a month in rent.
Minister responds
Contacted on the issue, Minister of Tertiary Education and Skills Training, Fazal Karim, said that he had introduced the concept of university-branded water after his visit to the National University of Singapore. “I thought it was a good way from the University to earn some income," he said.
However, when asked if he was aware that the original contract with Oasis was stopped and that there was a new water company involved, Karim claimed he was not.
Asked if he was aware that the new agreement with the new company is for the university to sell the branded water only, Karim also said he was not aware and directed those questions to UWI Pro Vice Chancellor and St Augustine Campus Principal Professor Clement Sankat. When contacted Sankat re-directed the T&T Guardian to UWI’s Director of Institutional Advancement, Sharan Singh.
Singh explained that the contract between SM Jaleel and UWI had come to an end and they were currently exploring other options. He claimed that no contract had yet been signed with a new company and that they had the option to renew with SM Jaleel, taking into consideration that a UWI Campus will be opened soon in South.
Asked about whether there were not concerns about variety and quality of the product involved, Singh assured that they would not jeopardise consumers’ health or the quality of water. He said under the current arrangement the university will also be able to use the labels on the branded water to carry personalised messages to the student body, including study tips around examinations.
President of the Students Guild at UWI, Makesi Peters, said he was shocked at the ‘monopoly’ deal between the University and a new water company for the sale of UWI-branded water. He said it was unfair to take away the preference for students and claimed that the student body had not yet been informed about this latest move.
Peters said he would now seek a meeting with the respective UWI officials on the matter and direct his public relations officer to proceed with informing the students about it as well.
Background
On Wednesday 20 March, 2013 Prof Sankat, in his welcome remarks, said the initiative began when UWI’s former Business Development Manager, who is currently the Minister of Tertiary Education and Skills Training (TEST), Fazal Karim, visited the National University of Singapore. Sankat added that after seeing the National University of Singapore branded water, he (Karim) immediately envisioned the selling of UWI-branded water at UWI, St. Augustine Campus, and the benefits that it could bring to our university.
Sankat further explained that the initiative would bring out the entrepreneurial side of the campus and university, which he said is directly aligned with the university’s strategic plan 2012–2017. This plan, Sankat added, calls for an increased entrepreneurial drive through partnerships with the private sector. “It is therefore a time for us at the UWI to leverage our resources, our innovative capacity and our creativity to build an ‘enterprising academy,’” he said.
Project on stream
Contacted last week, Sales Director at Crystal Water Limited, Ann Marie Charles-Brewster, confirmed that a contract was signed between them and the university, adding that the project was already on stream.
Charles-Brewster, however, said she could not comment further as she was about to go into a meeting. She suggested that an email be sent to her with further questions. But after the email was sent, she responded by saying: “I am unable to respond at this time, the University will have to make an official statement. Their communications department will be in contact with you to initiate the article.”
Up to yesterday, the T&T Guardian had not received that statement.