The Opposition has called for Government to allocate more money to e-commerce, claiming that if it does not, then Bermuda will be left behind.

On Friday Shadow Minister of Telecommunications and E-commerce Allan Marshall said that the small amount of money given to the Ministry showed that Government was not serious about developing e-commerce.

"It shows that this Government is not serious about developing and encouraging growth in the third pillar in our economy - the entire budget for this Ministry is less than the cost of about three fast ferries," Mr. Marshall said in his response to the budget.

He said Government had repeatedly pledged its support for e-commerce and its vowed to continue developing it as the third pillar of the economy in the 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 Throne Speeches.

He said: "In the 2001 Throne Speech Government pledged again a National Plan for e-business, outlining the strategy, policy and actions required to place Bermuda at the forefront of global e-business. That is an ambitious objective, to place Bermuda at the forefront of global e-business, no question about it."

And he pointed to the $852,000 allocated to e-commerce, with $166,000 in salaries, $50,000 in travel and $630,000 in advertising and promotion

He added; "Is $852,000 sufficient a budget to realise the objective to place Bermuda at the forefront of global e-business as promised in this year's Throne Speech? I doubt it. The funding is woefully inadequate."

And he pointed to the Isle of Man where more money had been allocated and more results had been seen there because of more cash.

He said that while there had been a lot of "hype" about putting Bermuda at the forefront of global e-business, Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb had "not been able to put the money where her mouth was".

And he said that Bermuda should not just conduct surveys about e-business, but should develop an international presence and make a commitment to the success of the venture.

He claimed that there was no major e-commerce presence in Bermuda as there had been in insurance. He said: "No single major international success story in e-commerce has arrived on our shores under this administration."

Across the floor of the House of Assembly, Renee Webb, defended herself by shouting: "That is not true."

Mr. Marshall said: "The Telecom and E-Commerce Ministry is the smallest Ministry of the 13. Add another 50 percent and it would still be the smallest and lowest funded ministry of the 13. Double the budget - that would come to $13.41 million and it would only overtake the Community Affairs and Sports Ministry by about $2.2 million, but would still be smaller than the Cabinet Office Ministry whose budget total is $14.54 million and still smaller than the Legislative Affairs Ministry, whose total is $13.6 million."

He added: "The e-commerce budget of $852,000 is woefully inadequate to position Bermuda ahead of the pack. It is less than the cost of one fast ferry, maybe not even half the cost.

"The fact is Government is waffling at getting the international e-train initiative out of the station and on the right track and is causing our people to miss out on the global e-commerce opportunities."