Bermuda must upgrade product and services, says Gibbons Continued from Saturday's newspaper Finance Minister Grant Gibbons stressed that Bermuda had to upgrade its product and services.

In other areas that were not doing as well, he continued, it had to be remembered that costs in Bermuda were higher than other parts of the world which made it harder for Bermuda to compete worldwide.

The response from Government and the private sector was that there was a need to keep things as lean and efficient as possible.

But Dr. Gibbons added that businesses with higher costs had to justify the value of their product -- that it was worth the higher cost.

And businesses needed to ensure that they matched their product to the customer and kept abreast of supply and demand. This idea was especially applicable to tourism, added Dr. Gibbons.

The Island could not ignore market forces as it was player in the world market.

However the Government's finances were in much better shape than many other countries and initiatives were being embarked on to improve its effectiveness.

And Dr. Gibbons said it would only be through this strong economy that Bermuda would be able to face the challenges of the 21st century.

Stanley Morton (PLP) said he too had faith in Bermuda's economy.

Mr. Morton praised Opposition Leader Jennifer Smith's reply to the Throne Speech but blasted Government MPs' criticism of it.

This was a glaring example of the confrontation in the House of Assembly, he said, and if that attitude was shown by them then what was expected by people who looked up to them.

He asked: "What kind of example do we set?'' And Mr. Morton attacked the Government accusation that the PLP were soft on crime and drugs which would never have been done by anyone with honour and integrity.

"This is a serious time,'' he said.

Just because the PLP took a different approach and did not agree with the idea of the birch did not mean it was soft on crime, he stressed.

Mr. Morton said if anyone was soft on drugs then it was the party in power who condoned the sale of alcohol "in every grocery store on the Island''.

Alcohol had be shown to eradicate both family and society, continued Mr.

Morton, and their must be serious control of it but the power was in the Government's hands.

It was the politicians duty to make a society where young people felt comfortable and confident enough to pursue their aspirations in life, he said.

And he added that it was just as important for Bermuda to have a strong economy as it was for every Bermudian to feel part of it.

Mr. Morton said an important aspect to dealing with problems in Bermuda was establishing a good relationship with the people so they were confident in what the Government did.

"When the PLP take over Government they can be confident they have dedicated people interested in their survival.'' And he said Bermuda should stop following Britain's lead when it came to solving their problems and consider creating their own solutions so they can continue to change and progress.

Transport Minister Wayne Furbert said the country was fast approaching the 21st century which would be a time of uncertainty and challenge.

He said Bermuda had to be prepared and the community wanted a steady and experienced hand to guide it.

The PLP were still linked to the past through the party's old guard who seemed to be still in control as the new leader had not gotten all their support in the party's election.

The Opposition's crime report had not revealed anything and he had never seen their promised drug abuse report, continued Mr. Furbert.

He said the Public Transportation Board had taken on 20 new air-conditioned buses.

He added much thought was now going into how students from the new Cedarbridge Academy would go straight home after school.

"I hope parents can tell kids to go home so we won't have lots of kids doing nothing in town.'' Mr. Furbert said graffiti on buses was still a problem.

Turning to the Airport, he said it was noticeable the PLP's Throne Speech reply made no mention of it.

One could assume from this that the Opposition were happy with the way the Airport was being run.

Mr. Furbert said a lot of work was being carried out at the Airport to make it a more welcoming place for visitors.

And he claimed the training of Bermudians at the Airport had been a big success story.

Seventy-percent of those running the Airport were now Bermudians, he said.

Mr. Furbert defended Government plans to demolish Longbird House -- a move regretted by the PLP in its Throne Speech reply.

He said the historic building had to be removed so Bermuda could comply with international civil aviation standards.

Before Bermuda took over the US Bases, the building only had to meet military standards, said Mr. Furbert.

On Bermuda's roads, Mr. Furbert said there was no doubt traffic congestion during the early mornings and evenings was a problem.

Fifty years ago Bermudians did not have need for cars. But that had changed.

Mr. Furbert said the future lay with accessibility rather than mobility.

Accessibility, safety, comfort and ease of use were the features important to road users in the future.

At one stage during Mr. Furbert's speech the only member sitting on the Government benches was backbencher Grace Bell , and she appeared to be nodding off.

PLP MPs pointed out the number of empty seats opposite them. Mr. Furbert, however, soldiered on regardless.

He pointed out a Green Paper would be produced, touching on a host of transport matters, including roadside breathtesting, road engineering and emission of fumes from vehicles.

Mr. Furbert said the Transport Control Department had become more "user friendly''.

In conclusion, he said the Throne Speech set out a clear vision for the future and where Government wanted to take Bermuda in the next millennium.

He believed the UBP was the only party capable of leading the Country.

After Mr. Furbert's presentation, House Speaker Ernest DeCouto urged MPs to raise the level of debate.

He pointed out the hour was already getting late -- and only six people had spoken.

Mr. DeCouto appealed for MPs to make their points succinctly and get to the meat of issues quickly.

Opposition MP Ottiwell Simmons , the next to speak, welcomed the Speaker's appeal.

He said the radio audience had been forced to listen to long, empty speeches, which carried the listener nowhere.

Mr. Simmons said Bermuda was beset by social problems, such as crime, drugs and violence.

It was all very well Mr. Furbert talking about training two Bermudians at the Airport, Mr. Simmons continued, but something much more substantial was really required.

"We need to have real programmes that are going to arm our young people in this community with skills, morality and standards.'' Mr. Simmons said The Royal Gazette had pointed out there had been five killings in Bermuda this year, including the recent death of a little girl.

There used to be a time when such a tragedy plunged the Country into mourning.

Now it was case of "business as usual''.

"We have got our priorities wrong.'' Mr. Simmons said Bermuda's two economic pillars -- the hotel industry and international companies -- were owned by foreigners.

This was surely wrong.

Mr. Simmons then turned to the dismissal of former Police chief Wayne Perinchief.

Mr. Perinchief had been a role model to many kids and those who "kicked'' him out of a job had acted illegally and in breach of the Constitution, Mr.

Simmons said.

The Police Commissioner had been brought in to do the "dirty work'', while the Governor showed him how to do it with the support of the Minister of Home Affairs and Public Safety, he continued.

"If we are going to have the type of Government that we are entitled to we have got to start cleaning our house.

"There is no sense in continuing with a Governor and Commissioner who have bungled their positions...'' Mr. Simmons said the Governor should be recalled, the Commissioner "discharged'', and Mr. Perinchief reinstated.

Health Minister Harry Soares said there was a tendency to dwell on the negative.

Often Bermudians went abroad and told people they came from the best place in the world.

But when they returned home they were negative about their own Country.

Mr. Soares said Bermuda had a lot to be proud off. And he pointed out Government spent $99 million on health and social services, making sure people were prepared for the 21st Century.

"We should look at Bermuda through the eyes of outsiders.'' Mr. Soares said primary students, for instance, were given regular eyesight and hearing checks.

Child and Family Services was being reviewed and $16 million went towards St.

Brendan's.

"We never wanted to be in a position where someone does not go to St.

Brendan's because they can't afford to get help.'' Mr. Soares said the Government was doing a lot for young people and the elderly.

"Sometimes we are too quick to be negative. The young people of the Country have reason to be extremely optimistic for the year 2,000.'' Shadow Human Affairs Minister Ewart Brown said it was an MP's duty to raise the level and quality of debate, and he would attempt to do so.

Dr. Brown said Dr. Gibbons had claimed the PLP was unable to run the Government while referring to the Opposition as amateurs who appeared to be on the lookout for a "free lunch''.

But if the Opposition were after a "free lunch'', Sea-Lands Construction had received a "full dinner'' with the payment of $2 million by Government, he added.

Dr. Brown said the Throne Speech was lacking in compassion and appeared to have been written by a technocrat.

The Speech promoted the concept of a Police state which protected a few, and there was little mention of human affairs.

Also, there was no mention of age discrimination, Dr. Brown continued.

Citing the example of Dr. George McPhee, Dr. Brown said the long-standing physician had been discarded simply because of his age not because of complaints.

This showed the UBP's ethic to be: "When we are through with you, we will take you and throw you in the trash -- discard you -- and find someone else to put in your place.'' Dr. Brown said what made the matter worse was that Dr. McPhee had been replaced by a foreign doctor who was 65 years old "which shows it's not a long term investment''.

What happened to training a Bermudian physician to come in and serve the country for a long time, he asked, adding that the PLP would have done that.

However, he continued, the UBP were insensitive and had used a "band aid'' approach to the matter.

He said the PLP would introduce legislation to protect senior citizens from such cold-hearted treatment.

Dr. Brown then defended the PLP from its critics which said it was soft on drugs and crime.

"The PLP supports any effort aimed at punishing illegal conduct especially those involving drugs.'' And he said what people perceived as softness was compassion toward human beings who had the drug problems.

Dr. Brown slammed The Royal Gazette for the "venomous hogwash'' it printed in relation to this matter.

He also warned the people who felt punishment was the only approach to crime.

"Their day is coming because one day they will be punished and there will be no compassion for them.'' The UBP's problem, he continued, was that it tried to solve problems from the top down, instead from the bottom up and were setting the policy for the people on the street from the boardroom.

Dr. Brown looked at racism and called the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality an ambitious project that he had warned Government to go easy with.

Racism was not the equivalent of the "common cold'' but a "cancer''.

However he hated to say it, he continued, "but I told you so''.

He praised CURE's staff for getting people to talk about racism but added that their condition was that of a toothless tiger with no claws.

"Where is the legislation,'' he asked.

Government were not making headway, he continued, because they were being knocked backward by their own policies and had not gotten the point.

You could have all the "head'' you wanted but if you did not have the heart then nothing would happen.

Bermudians got rough treatment from the Government, he said, citing the example of Randy Benjamin.

Here was a man who had spent 35 years in the education system and was a proven team player yet when he wanted to step up the ladder was told he would have to take an aptitude test.

He "ought to be apt'' after 35 years in education, said Dr. Brown.

But a Canadian came into the top position at the new school and did not have to take an aptitude test, he exclaimed.

And then there was the issue of naming the new school, added Dr. Brown.

Here was a chance for Government to acknowledge a great educational hero and give young people a sense of national pride and belonging yet they named it "after a tree and a bridge''.

Dr. Brown resumed his attack on The Royal Gazette and claimed Government had an "unholy alliance with the daily newspaper''.

He had read some things in the paper which constituted "irresponsible editorialising'' by the newspaper.

The paper continued to use certain words "which penetrate the brain'', he said.

These were "the PLP is soft on drugs and the PLP is soft on crime''.

Dr. Brown said the paper was irresponsible for saying that because the PLP believed in rehabilitation.

Dr. Brown warned that the newspaper should be dealt with for printing libelous material and would be.

UBP backbencher Trevor Moniz addressed one issue when he spoke and that was concerning long term residents in Bermuda.

What is intended to be done about them, he asked.

During the lead up to the referendum on Independence, he said, Government had said residents in Bermuda for over 20 years would be granted the option of Bermudian citizenship.

Since the decision not to go independent had been made, there had been no forward motion by either side of the House in finding a solution to the matter.

It was important not to take the route of only giving long term residents second class citizenship, he warned.

He said Government were not clear on what they intended to do and this was a risk.

Meanwhile the Opposition had stated in their reply to the Throne Speech that a "simple, humanitarian solution'' was required but they did not give one.

He said he hoped both sides would put forth realistic solutions shortly.