Opposition MP Jamahl Simmons has called for race fairness to be a factor in awarding Government contracts but has stopped short of advocating positive discrimination.

He spoke following the recent furore over the Dockyard cement supply contract.

The Bermuda Cement Company (BCC) fears it is about to lose its lease, after 40 years, from the West End Development Corporation ? which prompted BCC boss Jim Butterfield to compare Bermuda to Zimbabwe and imply the company was being confiscated.

Bermuda Industrial Union boss and Government backbencher Derrick Burgess had earlier said the plant should go to ?our people?.

Premier Alex Scott has ruled out positive discrimination and said simply by creating a level playing field black firms would do better.

But Mr. Simmons said more needed to be done to iron out wealth disparities and avoid suspicion every time a Government contract came up.

He said the PLP had created heightened expectations among the black community by playing the race card at the elections but had not delivered, thus creating resentment and apathy.

Criteria need to be drawn up to get buy-in from business, he suggested, with contracts not given to those refusing to comply if there were more progressive competitors in the field.

He said Government should:

Identify where disparity existed

Identify where contracts had been held an inordinately long time

Identify if companies had a make up reflective of the population at large

Identify if companies had a succession plan or adequate training to improve their racial, gender and nationality demographic.

Mr. Simmons continued: ?If there?s a belligerent company which doesn?t want to change, then removing the contract is definitely an option.

?If we do things in a vacuum, where there?s no coordination another contract will come and it will create an atmosphere of distrust. We need to do things in a less divisive atmosphere.?

A clear Government policy of what was trying to be achieved was needed said Mr. Simmons, who pointed out race disparities not just in the awarding of Government contracts but also in wealth and occupation across Bermuda. Census figures showed whites earned 22 percent more than blacks and dominated upper management positions. Gender inequality in salaries needed to be tackled as well, said Mr. Simmons, who noted women earned 85 percent of what men did.

He said Government policy had been ad hoc with Renee Webb saying contracts should go to ?people who look like me? which had been refuted by other Cabinet members who said they went on merit.

?This has caused a great deal of confusion in the community.?

Even some right wing Republicans in the US had accepted the concept of addressing disparities in jobs said Mr. Simmons.

?It is not beyond the norm.?

But he doubted whether Government could say what percentage of contracts were held by black or white firms.

?That?s unfortunate if you see the disparities and if you are talking about giving opportunities to people who have never had them before.?

He said if there it was found that only ten percent of contracts were being awarded to companies led by blacks or women then a target should be set, saying what should be achieved within a set framework. Equal opportunities did not mean equal outcomes, said Mr. Simmons. He said in a small country there could be reasons why a certain firm had a monopoly.

?Because it?s ad hoc the whole situation has made people question what?s going to happen to their business. It has created fear which is unnecessary.

?In granting of contracts Government should be able to set standards.

?I agree with Derrick Burgess, we do have a mandate to have positive change to address the disparities.

?If you are giving contracts to companies who are 80 percent non-Bermudian, you have to ask what are they doing to train people for those positions?

?It isn?t about bully tactics, it?s about engaging business.?

Mr. Simmons said he knew of one international company which had transformed its outlook from a white closed shop in under two years.

Statistics were needed about the numbers of people working in jobs beneath their level of education, said Mr. Simmons, who holds the transport brief for his party.

He said the UBP had insisted that Somers Construction partner with smaller firms during the building of CedarBridge. ?You do things like that to get people engaged.?

Mr. Simmons welcomed Government?s commitment to help smaller companies work with banks to increase cash flow made after lack of capital was blamed as one of the factors in delaying the new Berkeley.

Some social commentators said Government should consider positive discrimination to iron out wealth disparities.