Like many residents of Bermuda, I watched with interest the programme at 8pm on ZFB11 Tuesday evening regarding the intended National Pension Scheme and the Y2K update.

I shall limit my response to the latter issue.

The entire mood of the update was one of unbridled optimism that Y2K -- nasty though it might be for others -- will barely affect Bermuda and its people.

After all, the Survey proved that 97 percent of businesses are confident in their readiness, didn't it? Plus, the three "experts'' were so gushing about the preparations for Y2K that had been going on for years, that one is tempted to think that January 2000 will pass off without a hitch. The stated minor concern over small entrepreneurs is surely overshadowed by the tremendous preparations of the large institutions, isn't it? No it isn't.

This was another classic example of misinformation "for the people's own good''! We have seen its like from Alan "Y2K will be just a bump in the road'' Greenspan and the popular press and media in the USA. The truth is being withheld from the people to prevent panic over the scale of disruption that lies ahead.

Is this mere opinion? Let us consider...

The Survey quoted in the programme reported that 97 percent of respondees were confident about their own preparations for Y2K. But, only 15 percent of those companies polled even responded! Therefore only 14 percent of companies actually surveyed responded confidently! The president of the Chamber of Commerce mentioned only once that there may be a concern over the fact that selectivity may have taken place; i.e. that those companies that felt confident responded and those that did not feel confident, didn't. This should have been a warning signal to those seeking to make sense of the Survey. All that can be said is that 85 percent of the Survey results are unknown and the remainder is probably not representative of Bermuda's business.

A second vital issue concerns the basis for confidence of the companies that did respond. How was this confidence achieved? If you ask the CEO of a company in competition with others in the same vertical market: "Are you prepared for Y2K?'' he will of course respond in the affirmative, whether or not that is really the case. The potential loss of confidence resulting from a negative response would damage that company's competitive standing.

So exactly how is this confidence being generated? Most of the world's companies have adopted the regime of self-assessment in regards to Y2K preparedness. This is akin to a student grading his own exam papers! Without independent verification and the documentary evidence of such made available to the general public, the PR spin-doctors are having a field day.

Confidence of Y2K readiness is being based upon answers to the following questions: 1. How many workers have been assigned to Y2K corrective work? 2. How long have we been working on Y2K issues? 3. How much has been spent on Y2K issues? 4. How much new and replacement equipment has been purchased for Y2K? 5. How are we doing on our (completely arbitrary) project timeline? These are not metrics. These are smokescreens to cover the awful reality that companies really have no idea whether or not they are truly ready for January 1st 2000. Even if a company feels confident about its preparation, all this means is that it believes that its own IT systems will not miscalculate dates in the year 2000! This is a false basis for confidence in the interdependent, interconnected world we live in today. So we should be asking: 1. Where are the written guarantees of Y2K compliance for each company? 2. Where are these company's verifications by external independent monitoring companies? 3. Where are the similar verifications from their suppliers; their customers; the utility companies that support their infrastructure; the banks that they rely upon for their transactions and; the telecommunications providers that they rely upon for the conduct of their business? Can a single company guarantee that they are compliant in all of the above areas? If so, where is the evidence? Has the evidence been independently verified? If so, by whom? Where can this evidence be accessed by the public? If this evidence cannot be provided, then the assertions of Y2K readiness are mere opinion! It is my opinion that Bermuda is not ready for Y2K, nor indeed can it be. This is because the Millenium bug is a systemic problem that cannot be fixed -- it is a global problem that cannot be solved in a vacuum, for it is bigger than all of us! As an independent professionally qualified Business Continuity Management consultant who has spoken concerning Y2K to the Bermuda chapter of ISACA, I believe that I know what I am talking about. Do not allow the wool to be pulled over our eyes, Bermuda! Challenge the assumptions in your own company that have led to statements of confidence about Y2K preparedness -- and publish your findings in The Royal Gazette for us all to read.

MARTIN TICKLE MBCI, BSc Business Continuity Management Consultant Coverage was scandalous September 27, 1999 Dear Sir, As a member of St. Michael's Parish, I found it reprehensible that a fellow parishioner would share our pastor's troubles with the entire population of Bermuda through the courtesy of The Royal Gazette.

However, it is equally disturbing that you considered the story not only newsworthy but front page material. Are you trying to sink to the level of the scandal sheets at the supermarket check-out counters? L. ABEND Smith's Parish