records in light of the Tumim Report, says Delegated Affairs Minister the Hon.

Sir John Sharpe.

"The perception of institutionalised racism is given substance by the fact that most of our Bermudian businesses -- notable exceptions are Belco and Telco -- have no, or virtually no blacks in their managerial positions,'' Sir John told The Royal Gazette .

A committee the Premier appointed to implement the Tumim recommendations "may wish to interview the major local businesses and financial institutions and confront them with this, which is more than a perception, and get their responses on how they feel they can address it.'' The three-day Tumim debate ended in the House of Assembly on Friday as the Minister promised the Report of the Criminal Justice Review Board would not be ignored.

"The report and the Government response is by no means the end of it,'' said Sir John, who chairs the report's implementation committee.

"It's just the start, and I would say a dynamic start as we move forward expeditiously to create a more equal, and a more just society.'' But Government cannot by itself end institutional racism, he said.

Sir John made his comments as the Opposition complained about the lack of concrete response to the report. "At the end of this debate, we're still not sure where the Government stands on specific recommendations,'' Progressive Labour Party MP Mr. Dennis Lister said on Friday. "We have no way of holding them accountable,'' and the Tumim Report "could return to the shelf.'' Even United Bermuda Party backbencher Mr. Anthony Correia sounded less than confident about Tumim's implementation. In the past, "it's been talk, talk, talk and reports have gone on the shelves and gotten full of dust,'' Mr.

Correia told the House. "Now we have another report.

"I hope that this is the last one.'' Sir John said Government had responded positively to "virtually every recommendation'' in Tumim.

Legislation is already tabled to end mandatory jail terms for traffic offences, and legal aid will soon be returned to the Supreme Court under the direction of a Puisne Judge, he said.

A race relations division attached to the Human Rights Commission will hopefully be in place this year, Community, Culture and Information Minister the Hon. Leonard Gibbons said.

Mr. Gibbons said he is also moving on a recommended working party to examine the Island's social conditions, as well as easier distribution of Government publications.

Many recommendations involve procedural changes which should require neither legislation nor much Government spending, Sir John said. Other than the Transport changes, he said no new legislation related to Tumim will be tabled before the summer break.

Recommendations like the videotaping of Police interviews with suspects and the introduction of court stenographers, are costly and are "not going to happen immediately.'' Review of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act will also take time, he said.

And establishment of a halfway house for released prisoners is "not a small undertaking.'' It will require finding a site and annual support, Sir John said. "It's something we certainly accept in principle.'' The Minister dismissed Opposition assertions that Government ignored similar recommendations in earlier reports on Bermuda's justice system, including ones by Wooding, Lord Pitt, and Gurr.

Government did act on those, he said. "People like to think that one report is the last report you'll ever have, and the situation will never need revisiting after that, but it doesn't happen that way.

"We've had other reports,'' he said. "What's more, we'll have other reports after this report, because this is a dynamic, changing society.'' There are two Tumim recommendations Government is not keen about, Sir John said. One is the adaptation of the United Kingdom's Criminal Justice Act 1991 to Bermuda's needs. The Act makes it difficult to jail repeat offenders and "has produced chaos in the courts'' in England, he said.

The other recommendation Government resists is setting court fines in accordance with ability to pay. While there is some merit in the scheme, judges already have discretion in setting fines, and legislation could increase the inequity, he said.