UNIVERSITY of the West Indies (UWI) St Augustine campus principal Prof Rose-Marie Belle Antoine says timekeeper Michael Jay Williams is welcome to offer his services, pro bono, in lieu of the institution's financial constraints.

Williams has repeatedly chastised the university for not repairing a broken clock on the campus in a series of letters published by Newsday.

On Friday, Antoine issued a written response to Williams, saying: "I have been informed that you have, for a number of years, been urging the UWI to give you the contract to fix and maintain this clock.

"I note from your earlier letters that your estimates to fix (without maintenance) is indeed far more than the $3,000 now being suggested and the overall cost is likely to be quite high.

"I should add that the UWI is a transparent organisation and operates a very strict competitive procurement and accounting system and all contractors must go through this process.

"It would therefore be improper and without integrity for any contract to be awarded to you on a personal basis outside of this process. Further, the UWI is now at a difficult time financially."

Antoine took note of comments made by Williams in a series of letters published by Newsday, one of which was addressed to her as an open letter, calling for a meeting while ridiculing the institution.

The 90-year-old Williams, who also served as president of the Senate from 1986-1990, charged that the "powers that be seem not to care whether the campus clock is giving the correct time; getting their salary seems all that matters.

He wrote in a letter in August, "The meagre cost (about $2,000) to relocate the controller was deemed unnecessary by the powers that be and UWI opted to maintain the status quo and the useless clock," he wrote.

In the subsequent open letter to Antoine, published on September 10, he said the problem costs $3,000 to correct.

And again, Williams wrote a letter published by Newsday, in which he said he has given UWI a quote of $3,915 to fix the problem.

Williams is responsible for installing and/or restoring a number of prominent clocks around the country, including those located at the Beacon Lighthouse in Port of Spain, St Michael's Church in Maracas Valley, the Arima Arch, and others.

In his August letter he wrote, "(Resetting the clock) surely is a task for a monkey and unless Dhun (Jason Dhun, UWI facilities manager) can find such a creature, the students, staff and principals at UWI may never see a functioning clock on their campus," adding that he asked Dhun to assist "in remedying the elegant timepiece in the humanities building which overlooks the campus plaza."

The UWI’s campus clock has been redundant for half a century, he said, "or perhaps since installation."

Williams said after several visits, he advised that the clock controller was improperly installed and could not be serviced because of where it is situated.

Antoine, who was announced as the new campus principal on August 1, said she was briefed on the situation upon taking office