Tourism and Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb defended her comments on economic empowerment and challenged the UBP to say publicly that they agree with her instead of attacking her.

"It is nothing to attack. We all are equal in our country whether we believe that or not and we should be equal participants at all levels and apparently they are on board - they talk about economic parity so I am assuming they are talking about black people as well... even though they have a problem saying it. They have a problem about talking about black people," she said.

"The Honourable Grant Gibbons can get up and say `yes in My Throne Speech I talked about economic parity and guess what folks? That means that the United Bermuda Party is going to ensure that black people become owners of some of the resources in this country, that they become equal partners and I agree with what Renee Webb said and good for her, finally it was said and we agree and the country moves on and does something about it. But no they have to make a political issue out of it and attack me? I have no apologies to make and I tell people let the attacks come."

She accused the Opposition of playing "dirty politics" with plans to cook up an affidavit suggesting shady dealings.

"They are doing some dirty politics right now, Mr. Speaker, like you would not believe. And of course it all comes back to us. And we are waiting. I tell them bring the affidavits on. Bring it all on. Don't wait until the elections, bring it on."

She told her colleagues that she found John Barritt's plea to steer clear of personal attacks "amazing" given that he was one of the people who attacked her personally for her comments on economic empowerment.

"Having borne the brunt of the attacks by the Opposition as a consequence to what I said with respect to ensuring that Government promotes people who look like me and in our economic empowerment of people, we have to make sure that blacks become economically empowered and become owners and not just consumers of some of the resources in this country that the Opposition took the opportunity so viciously in my absence."

The Minister noted that her comments were made in response to mention of economic empowerment in the Opposition's Reply to the Throne Speech. "What they will not say and I am not ashamed to say... is that means bringing black ownership into the mainstream. We don't have to give a great analysis of the fact that blacks own very little in Bermuda. It's a fact."

She said Government had to play a role because economic empowerment could not be left to the system. And she denied Opposition accusations that Government would favour people who think like her.

"I would hope more people think like me and are on board. But the truth is many people don't think like me - even blacks, they accept the fact that they are consumers... This is something that is outside the mindset of many people."

She said she had visited the construction site at Berkeley and had been filled with pride that for the first time in the history of the country a major project was in the hands of a black firm.

"I can tell you that as a Bermudian who has been raised in a society where the economic benefits have been in the hands of a particular group which has been white in the main... I was very proud to see that group at work," she said.

She explained that the reason she said "people who look like me" was because she happened to be a person of colour and a woman.

Ms Webb pointed to a Tourism policy which requires foreign companies to partner with Bermudian firms and said that none of the contracts so far had benefited black firms. "We never said those Bermudian firms had to be black... In my Ministry the beneficiaries had been white. We don't have the black firms in place, but those that we do have in place we must support them. We must give them the opportunity to succeed. Some won't succeed, some won't do well, but we cannot give up. We have to put programmes in place to make sure that they benefit... This is what responsible Government is about."

Ms Webb noted that none of the UBP's predictions of economic disaster had come true. "They cannot get us on our records because the economy is doing well, Bermudians are doing well... And they are going to try to undermine us all personally because they are going to get into some dirty politics like this country has never seen."

But she said the electorate will see through the tricks and "lies" and she predicted that as Ashfield DeVent won the Pembroke East Central, her party will win the coming general elections.

Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons said he had no idea of what affidavits the Minister was talking about and objected to her reference to "lies" as unparliamentary language.

"Misrepresenting the truth - you are still telling lies if you misrepresenting the truth. But my point is I make no apologies when I get up here and speak and whether or not they get annoyed or not they don't like to hear the truth. But the truth of the matter is, whether or not they accept it, they are looking at the whole economic parity piece because they know it is something that we need to move forward with as a country."

Ms Webb added that if Dr. Gibbons agreed with economic empowerment and that black people had not benefited as owners of the economy, he should say that he is "proud to agree with Renee Webb and... the Progressive Labour Party Government. But they only use it as electioneering techniques and they are still not capable of saying that they believe in economic empowerment for black people."

Dr. Gibbons interjected and said that they did agree but that they believed that the Government was only empowering the "select few". "We would like to empower everybody in Bermuda."

Ms Webb dismissed that as a "ridiculous clarification" because in the past only the select few benefited and that her Government was trying to reverse that.

"The last time I checked, blacks were the majority in this country, they are not the select few. We are talking about something on a higher level... If you are talking about stop attacking the messenger, fine begin with me. Secondly if you are talking about economic empowerment of black people, stand up and say it and be counted. There is nothing wrong with it. It is nothing to be ashamed of... We all should be proud to stand up here and say it without fear, and with pride - that we believe that all Bermudians should benefit and we are going to do whatever we can to make sure that happens. And we have to put policies in place to ensure that happens."

She repeated earlier statements that since the PLP's coming into power 98 percent of the beneficiaries of all contracts had been white, not black.