THE University of the West Indies (UWI) yesterday formally apologised to Prime Minister Andrew Holness for the omission of his name from the university’s Prime Ministers Park in honour of graduates who are or have served as heads of government in Caribbean Community (Caricom) states.

The issue was brought to the fore earlier this week when the regional university announced plans to induct Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Dr Keith Rowley at the Mona campus-based park. Dr Rowley, who arrived in the island Sunday on a four-day official visit, was inducted on Wednesday.

Dr Rowley took over the reins of the two-island nation in September 2015 when his People’s National Movement won 23 of the 41 parliamentary seats.

Holness, meanwhile, served briefly as Jamaica’s prime minister in late 2011 and was sworn in as prime minister again in March following the Jamaica Labour Party’s win in the February 25 General Election.

Yesterday, the university explained that at the establishment of the park in 2005, “The UWI took the decision to include the names of graduates who had served as prime minister of their respective countries up to that time”.

Accordingly, the following names were added:

• xempmargin;Percival James Patterson (Jamaica)

• xempmargin;Sir Kennedy Simmonds (St Kitts & Nevis)

• xempmargin;Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford (Barbados)

• xempmargin;Dr Ornaldo Smith (British Virgin Islands)

• xempmargin;Dr Ralph Gonsalves (St Vincent and the Grenadines)

• xempmargin;Patrick Manning (Trinidad and Tobago)

• Owen Arthur (Barbados)

• Dr Keith Mitchell (Grenada)

• Dr Kenny Anthony (St Lucia)

• xempmargin;Dr Denzil Douglas (St Kitts & Nevis)

“Having captured those graduates, the decision was taken that the names of other graduates who became prime minister would be inscribed in the Roll of Honour while they were in office. In the case of non-Jamaicans, it was decided that induction ceremonies would be held at a convenient time, preferably during an official visit to Jamaica,” the university said.

Subsequently, induction ceremonies were held for then Jamaica Prime Minister Bruce Golding in 2007, David Thompson of Barbados in 2008, and then prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar in 2012.