The following is an excerpt from a speech delivered by Opposition Leader Dr. Grant Gibbons to Sandys Rotarians on April 30.

@EDITRULE:

Tonight, I want to talk about a vision for Bermuda in the 21st Century in which a vibrant, diversified economy plays a key role. It's a vision I know I share with my new United Bermuda Party colleagues.

Quite simply, we believe in Bermuda and Bermudians. We are proud of our heritage, our quality of life and our position in the world today.

But we can and must do better.

We must make Bermuda safe again. We must develop the potential of every Bermudian child and guide our young people toward productive lives. We must make it easier to find a wide range of affordable housing. We must close the gaps in healthcare coverage and nurse our hospitals back to financial health. We must do a better job of including everyone in Bermuda's success.

Meeting these challenges and building a stable, prosperous future demand the ability to imagine what's possible as well as the economic resources to get us there.

But managing our economy by doing what's been done before won't get us there. Neither will heavy spending, record borrowing, excessive taxes or allowing the fates to decide our future.

The need for economic reform is urgent, although it can be hard to detect in a community where outward appearances suggest widespread prosperity.

You're probably familiar with the opening line of Charles Dickens' novel `A Tale of Two Cities'. It goes like this: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." In Bermuda today, we see a similar paradox of two Bermudas, where signs of affluence mask the financial struggles and frustrations of working class Bermudians.

Some of us drive nice cars. We dress well, we travel and our collective overseas purchases get higher every year.

But the warning signs are there, if you scratch the surface.

Affordable housing is simply too hard to find for most Bermudians, whether they're looking for an apartment or trying to buy a home. Even the middle class has a hard time paying for housing when a two-bedroom cottage can sell for $750,000.

Health care costs are rising by 10 percent a year, taking a bigger premium bite out of everyone's pay cheques. Too many seniors are living hand to mouth. Just think about trying to live in Bermuda on a maximum pension of some $900 a month.

Overall, individuals and businesses are paying $100 million more in taxes than they did in 1998. Bermudians I talk to say they're working longer hours and seeing fewer dollars in their wallets.

The job outlook is no better. Since 1999, 1,000 Bermudian jobs have been lost while more than 770 non-Bermudians have been hired.

Now dig a little deeper and look at the issues that directly threaten Bermuda's economy and government's ability to pay for the services we all have come to expect. An uncertain global economic climate, where the unpredictable and unthinkable can change expectations in an instant.

How we deal with these critical issues will determine what the Bermuda of tomorrow will look like. But one thing is clear: We can't afford to stand still.

Today, Bermuda faces two clear choices. We can stick with the status quo, which has brought economic stagnation - and more time won't change that. Or we can look for modern and innovative approaches to economic management that keep pace with rapid change.

We believe the key to Bermuda's future economic prosperity rests, in large measure, on broadening our economic base. And we believe the key to Bermuda's future social well being depends on ensuring that all Bermudians can share in the island's prosperity.

Some time ago, I announced that the next United Bermuda Party government will modernise the way Bermuda manages its economy by creating two separate ministries, one for Finance and budgets, the other for Tourism and Economic Development.

So why is this change important?

Quite simply, we are dangerously dependent on international business for our prosperity, and we must diversify to ensure a stable future. Those of you who invest understand the importance of having a diversified portfolio to reduce your financial risk. The same principle applies to Bermuda's economy. It would be foolish to assume that the reinsurance industry will continue to be our cash cow, reliably pumping revenue into government coffers for the foreseeable future.

As recently as 1995, Bermuda's earnings from tourism and international business were roughly the same. We all referred to them as the "twin pillars" of our economy. By 2001, however, the ratio had changed dramatically. Then, the contribution from international business was roughly three times the contribution from tourism. Today, we are close to having all our economic eggs in just one basket.

This imbalance also reduces career choices for Bermudians. Not everyone wants or is suited to a job in international business, and we must provide a wider spectrum of job opportunities to Bermudians. The time has come to address this imbalance and reduce our financial risk. We must shape our destiny, develop a clear strategy for sustainable economic growth and aggressively seek new opportunities for diversification.

How can this be done?

The new Ministry of Tourism and Economic Development will be dedicated to developing strategies that position Bermuda as a compelling centre for business and investment in a knowledge- and service-based economy. It will search aggressively for growth opportunities - within tourism, international business and the broader economy - that generate revenue and provide new careers and business options for the people of Bermuda. And it will, through the Office of Economic Empowerment, ensure that all Bermudians have an opportunity to participate in the future success of this island, particularly those who have been left out and left behind.

The work of this Ministry will be guided by core principles. New development must be sustainable. That means it must have minimal impact on our environment and be a good match for our human and natural resources. And new development must provide benefits that are widely distributed within our community. That means we will look for geographic distribution from St. George's to Somerset. It also means ensuring that economic benefits will be spread over a broader cross section of Bermudians.

The Tourism and Economic Development team will not wait for opportunities to come to us. They will seek them out.

They will research potential opportunities in such low-impact, high-value areas as financial services, information technology, alternate energy sources, marine sciences and biomedical research, off-site continuing education, communications and, of course, tourism. They will draw on local expertise and tap our global connections for advice and information. They will define our competitive advantages and promote Bermuda to appropriate investors and businesses, both locally and overseas.

They will work with other Ministries to create conditions conducive to certain industries - just as we created an attractive regulatory and business environment for insurance and reinsurance several decades ago. This includes close coordination with unions, Bermuda College and the Ministries responsible for immigration, education and training to ensure that Bermudians are well prepared to take advantage of new job opportunities.

The team will function as matchmakers, bringing together potential investors and businesses with other Bermudian groups having an interest in development, including the Corporations of Hamilton and St. George, the new Tourism Authority, the Bermuda Land Development Corporation and the West End Development Corporation. They will facilitate negotiations and provide interested parties with information and access to financial and legal expertise, as needed.

We believe that having a team with such a single focus in a coordinating role will help cut the red tape and bureaucracy normally associated with development projects. They will generate a "can do" atmosphere and send a welcoming message to potential business partners. They will be deal makers, not deal breakers.

At the same time, the Office of Economic Empowerment will have a high profile within the Development Ministry. It will analyze every new business proposal to ensure that jobs for Bermudians and opportunities for local businesses are incorporated within the proposal, both in the start-up and operational phases. Finding ways for Bermudians to develop equity positions in new businesses will be given priority.

I believe this overall vision for modern economic management is essential to building the stable, secure and prosperous future we want for Bermuda and all of Bermuda's children. The entrepreneurship, innovation, hard work and determination that for so long defined Bermuda can again be the source of our economic success.

That's our vision for One Bermuda. Achieving these goals will not be easy. But so long as Bermuda's next government works with all its citizens in an atmosphere of integrity, fairness, respect and humility, we can deliver on the promise of prosperous and stable future.