PLP backbencher Renee Webb launched a strong attack on Government for failing to introduce an agenda of economic empowerment for the black people of Bermuda.

Ms Webb in a passionate speech said the reason she stepped down from her Cabinet post was because she could not get Government to mainstream such a policy.

She said as a backbencher she could become "a drum major" for the cause.

Her comments were enthusiastically encouraged by the Opposition.

The outspoken Ms Webb reiterated her view that she wanted "more people who look like me" to be owners in Bermuda and said she made no apologies for saying so. In the House of Assembly debate on the Throne Speech yesterday Ms Webb said that while it was laudable that Government had brought forward its "social agenda" it was time to move forward to an economic agenda which would empower those that had historically been disadvantaged in the country.

Ms Webb warned that neglecting this aspect could lead Bermuda to become a welfare state where people became more reliant on Government.

She said that the PLP "as a black labour Government" had a moral responsibility to the black populous to implement such a strategy and must "take the lead".

Ms Webb said that labourers and consumers had to think in terms of ownership.

She pointed out how most Bermudian blacks talk about looking for a job rather than owning one and she said she told her daughter, nieces and nephews that she expected them to own.

Ms Webb said that while such a policy would be bold it was essential if Government intended to win the next election.

"We need to put policies in place to end it," she said speaking of the lack of black ownership and she asked who the "they" in institutionalised racism could be if the PLP are the Government. "We have to address shifting the economic paradigm," she said.

" It has become increasingly difficult to get a piece of the economic pie and buying a house is now out of the range of most people.

She said it was up to Government to devise a strategy by which it would put an end to institutionalised racism and it was also its responsibility to devise and direct the way forward.

"We will have to make hard decisions," she said, " and yes, some people will be upset."

But she said by taking that step Government would create a spin-off effect that would have a positive impact on the Social Agenda. She contended that as black Bermudians became stakeholders and owners of the means of production, they would become more self sufficient and less reliant on Government.