Empowerment legislation in South Africa ?sends a very powerful message to the community that old wrongs will be righted?, according to Shadow Minister for Race Relations and Economic Development David Dodwell.

The details, however, are important to allay fears of the legislation being used only to strengthen an already powerful elite, he said.

Government backbencher Renee Webb recently called for Government to adopt South African economic empowerment legislation, accusing the Progressive Labour Party of not doing enough to empower black Bermudians.

However that very legislation came under fire last week from South Africa?s anti-apartheid elder statesman, the former Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

The Nobel Peace Prize-winner accused South African president Thabo Mbeki and his government of enriching a small elite while the vast majority of the population remained poor.

?We are sitting on a powder keg,? he warned. ?What is black empowerment when it seems to benefit not the vast majority but an elite that tends to be recycled??

There are significant differences between South Africa and Bermuda, however, Mr. Dodwell said.

South Africa is an enormous country which went through dramatic changes in a short time, he said. It is tough to judge the success of the legislation without all the facts and since the country is different to Bermuda in such significant ways: its size and the significance of the social and political changes.

?We?d be much more capable of getting this right as a small country,? Mr. Dodwell said.

Economic empowerment legislation is necessary, however a plan supporting it is equally important, he said. Transparency, Mr. Dodwell added, must be a priority to prevent accusations of recycling an elite.

As part of the plan, he said, a certain percentage of Government contracts must become part of the empowerment process ? and a certain percentage of those must go to small businesses.

A company or entity should only receive a certain number of Government contracts, he added. Once the companies reach that number then no more may be awarded.

A ?critical component? of an economic empowerment plan would be regular reports to Parliament, ?so the whole country could read the results?, he said.

Mr. Dodwell admitted he was uncertain if this was being done in South Africa, but the Government response to Bishop Tutu?s accusations suggested otherwise.

Mr. Mbeki delivered a stinging rebuke to his former ally in the battle against apartheid, accusing him of spreading ?the entirely false message? that black empowerment ?benefits almost exclusively a small elite community composed of members of the (ruling party) ANC (African National Congress)?.

?Bishop Tutu has never been a member of the ANC, and would have very little knowledge of what happens even in an ANC branch.

?Rational discussion about how the ANC decides its policies requires some familiarity with the internal procedures, rather than gratuitous insults about our members,? Mr. Mbeki stated.

Bishop Tutu?s allegations would be easy to prove if all the information was published, Mr. Dodwell said.

?There must be a way to measure empowerment so everyone can see who is being empowered and by how much.?

Government could present reports listing who receives Government contracts, he said ? holding up the UBP?s management of the CedarBridge project as an example.

Every one of the companies receiving the 80 separate contracts was named, he said.

?That?s how I see the empowerment process working, that?s our goal ? transparency.?

If Government spends as much time as possible at the outset getting empowerment right, and putting controls and measurements in place and within reach of the public, then no one would be able to claim that all empowerment efforts are going to an elite, he said.

?There is a lesson to be learned (from South Africa).?