?It is unacceptable that this is the Bermuda we are and this is not the Bermuda we will be,? Premier Alex Scott told the country last night.

In a rare televised ?state of the union? address to the country, the Premier called on residents to pull together and ?resolve to reject the slide into social anarchy?.

During the half hour long speech the Premier announced he has directed his Cabinet to ?recommit? themselves to integrity, and urged the media to do likewise while redoubling their efforts as a political watchdog.

Vowing to leave political mischief-makers to the judgement of the people, he promised that the Government is listening to justified criticisms. Though there is much to be proud of, much needs to be addressed, such as the social conditions which could lead to the ?brutal and shocking? abduction and murder of 20-year-old Cooper twins Jahmil and Jahmal, he said.

Expressing Government?s condolences to the family of the twins, Mr. Scott added: ?Too many have been sacrificed... There can be no rational purpose for this senseless bloodshed.?

Such events conspire to ?shock us from the perch of complacency and smugness we?ve occupied for much too long,? he said ? and he urged residents to hold the Government accountable while at the same time taking individual action.

For Government?s part, the Premier threw his weight behind the Social Agenda. ?I take full responsibility for ensuring the goals of Government?s Social Agenda are met. This is the portfolio on which I shall deliver.?

Government will provide the tools for the public to hold him to his word, however.

The Premier promised that within a week residents will receive a booklet outlining the seven pillars of the Social Agenda ? youth development, community spirit, education and the training of a skilled workforce, housing for all, economic empowerment and opportunity, improved quality of life, and a civil and law abiding community.

The booklet will also contain the phone numbers and email addresses of Cabinet Ministers and their Ministries, he added, while the announcement of the country?s first Ombudsman is ?imminent?.

Premier Scott added: ?I urge you to track our commitments against our delivery.?

The public will also receive information on the different branches and departments of Government along with explanations of the roles each part plays, empowering the public with greater knowledge on where to go to find the help needed ? and what help is missing.

That being said, the public must also stand up and do its part, he urged. ?Make it your business.?

Highlighting community leaders such as Milton Richardson, founder of De Boys Day Out club; Jermaine Richardson, the man behind the General Education Diploma (GED) programmes giving dozens of adults a second chance; and all those who are Big Brothers and Big Sisters, the Premier reminded his audience that ?everyone can be a leader?.

As for the country?s elected leaders, ?I have directed my Ministers, at home and abroad, to recommit themselves to the path of integrity,? he said.

Cabinet has been ordered to ensure policy is about substance, transparency, and action, not lip service or platitudes ? and while the Government is paying attention to justified criticisms, the Premier was leaving political mischief makers ? namely in the Opposition ? to the judgement of the people.

While he could not direct the media, he urged Bermuda?s print and electronic journalists to ?redouble your efforts at exposing wrong-doing on both sides of the political aisle?.

?Be zealous ? but, without question, be committed to the highest standards of journalism in your respective newsrooms,? he said, adding: ?Your conclusions are only useful if they are truthful.?

Asserting that the media and the Government have an ?equal responsibility? to the public, he warned the media could be insulting that very public by acting without integrity.

The Premier also touched on the ?apparently irresistible? urge among some to cast dark clouds over the spectre of Independence ? a ?campaign intended to cast doubt on the process of national dialogue?.

However he took encouragement from what he has seen and heard at the Bermuda Independence Commission public meetings, he said, with hundreds at those meetings suddenly reaching new insights after listening to each others? experiences.

Confident that the country can agree on the formula, he simply asked that doubters and detractors ?keep an open mind?.

He also swore again that Government has no intention of forcing Independence on a reluctant nation, adding that his administration is ?not a Government to trample on the democratic rights of its people?.

Closing, the Premier called on the country to work together for ?consensual decision-making in a society with all its needs being met and with all having equal opportunity to spread their wings and soar?.

?We work best when we work together. Together we make our country whole.?