described his department as the "soul of the community'' during the Budget debate in the House of Assembly on Wednesday night..

If any one service within the Ministry was not operative, he explained, then it would "seriously affect the operation of Government.'' Mr. Woolridge said there had been increased focus on the health and safety of its more than 700 employees and a drug and alcohol policy was being developed to eliminate impairment on the job.

Inventory was being streamlined and controls were being tightened to improve efficiency with parts and supplies readily available by order so huge stocks were unnecessary.

There had also been an increase in on the job training and the apprentice programme was in action again. He said individuals would be placed in the programme regularly.

The apprentices' training would be supplemented by local and overseas courses as Bermuda was more "sophisticated'' now and young people had to be groomed to run it, said Mr. Woolridge.

Construction projects were also being spread out so there was not too much work going on at one time and too little at others, he added.

This work was also being divvied up between various contractors in an open tendering scheme which was working well at CedarBridge Academy -- which was on time, he added -- and at other sites including the Mangrove Bay Post Office and St. George's Police Station.

Open tendering was economical and the competitiveness it created was inductive to good results, he said.

Other work projected for the near future, continued Mr. Woolridge, included Paget Post Office, Police Headquarters and the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo -- plus the various schools around the Island.

A further ten miles of highway and 12 private roads were set to be resurfaced this year and research was underway to create a new, improved asphalt mix to provide a better surface.

An improved paint which provided higher reflectivity and less "bump'' was already being used for road lining, he said, while many street lights had been replaced with energy efficient units to reduce operating cost.

Bermuda's ground water was being monitored to ensure it was recovering from the heavy depletion it suffered at the turn of the decade when a large number of people sank wells, he continued.

And work was ongoing in improving water distribution to all points of the Island and its treatment.

Turning to waste management, Mr. Woolridge said the community's needs were being met in the area of refuse collection and disposal and recycling.

He added that technical advisors were looking into drawing up amendments to the law governing waste and litter so that offenders could be ticketed on the spot.

Mr. Woolridge said the department was developing a new address database which would become the official address file for the Island.

He added that the department was working closely with the Accountant General to see if there was a way to reduce the cost of insuring the Government's one billion dollar property portfolio.

Mr. Woolridge said the process of turning Pembroke Dump into a park was progressing nicely but asked Bermudians to take better care of the parks they already had.

The department was continuing to develop Bermuda's parks, he said, which included making improvements to the Botanical Gardens in Paget and developing a new playground for the young and old at Parson's Road.

He said Alexandria Battery in St. George's would be getting a new lease on life as its interior would be opened to the public and the abandoned boats at Burchall's Cove in Hamilton Parish would be removed.

Turning to the Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC), Mr. Woolridge said it provided 270 low-income homes and a number of places were coming on line for purchase by first time home owners.

And the West End Development Corporation would continue to show improvements including a children's playground and the installation of air conditioning and protective sheltering in the Cooperage.

Mr. Woolridge closed with the three public golf courses -- Port Royal, Ocean View and St. George's -- and said work was under way there to improve the customer service skills of the front line staff.

He added that plans were afoot to combine the three board of trustees representing each course into one unit.

Opposition Works and Engineering Minister Stanley Morton asked why the "extra'' two million dollars given to Sea Land Construction for their work at Westgate Correctional Facility was not accounted for in the Budget.

He asked if Mr. Woolridge had examined the company's books and whether or not he would be tabling them in the House of Assembly.

Mr. Morton asked if Sea Land paid more or less tax after receiving the two million dollars as well.

He also questioned why certain units within the department had less people working for them this year when compared to last year. He said he was concerned when people were not employed.

Mr. Morton asked why some areas were receiving more garbage collection than others and said he would like to know how much collection cost Government.

He said he would like to see an up to date report regarding the development of CedarBridge to see whether it was worthy of the money and time that had been put in it.

He added that people were nervous about the project after two million extra dollars were rewarded to Sea Land and the Tynes Bay Incinerator had wound up costing extra also.

And turning to the BHC, Mr. Morton said there had to be an effort to encourage people to improve themselves instead of becoming more reliant on Government assistance.

He suggested a programme similar to that found in the US where people were given assistance but were told it was only for a limited time during which they would have to prove they were trying to better themselves through education or training.

Ministry of Works and Engineering, Parks & Housing 1997/98 estimates Ministry Responsibility: To manage all public lands, works and amenities.

Budget Estimate: $55,620,000 (last year $53,484,000) Budget Allocations Administration $3,356,000 Estates $19,258,000 Highways $8,045,000 Solid Wastes $12,083,000 St. George's Golf Course $1,442,000 Port Royal Golf Course $2,351,000 Ocean View Golf Course $1,256,000 Parks $5,250,000 West End Development Corp. $717,000 Bermuda Housing Corp. $1,863,000