Rich descendants of slave owners should pour cash into programmes tackling social problems, according to Cabinet Minister Zane DeSilva.

Mr. DeSilva also called for poorer people to save their money instead of blowing it on things they don't need, like cigarettes, designer jeans and having their nails done.

He said both moves would help close the wealth gap he believes is partly responsible for the gang violence ripping Bermuda to shreds.

Some property owners make one or two million dollars a month, said the Minister without Portfolio, while other parts of the community are struggling to make ends meet.

"I have long said that if you are a beneficiary of some of the injustices in the past, especially going back to slavery — if you have access to millions of dollars and you know how that money was made — I think you should make a really concerted effort to put some of those funds into programmes that can help some of those people who need help," Mr. DeSilva told The Royal Gazette.

"Build a school; build a 100-home housing complex. We could solve a lot of our social issues very quickly.

"Some may feel if they donate a few dollars to these programmes they are doing it. Well, it's all relative to their income. If you are pulling in millions a month you can give more.

"For those who say, 'I'm not giving it to the PLP because they will waste it' — be creative, be innovative. Build a school. How do you think Saltus and Bermuda High School got built? Who was it built by?

"You will find a lot of Bermudians say, 'I had nothing to do with slavery'. But being white is a privilege. A lot of whites fail to acknowledge that."

Construction boss Mr. DeSilva, speaking to this newspaper as part of our Up Your Street series, said crime remains the number one concern raised by his Southampton East Central constituents.

He said he has confidence violence can be tackled because of Government's improved relationship with Police and the Governor, and praised the Progressive Labour Party's efforts in introducing social programmes.

But he called on parents to do their bit by instilling sensible morals into their children.

"Us as the Government, we don't like any of this nonsense that's going on any more than anyone else," he said.

"Long-term, I think if you drill down in all of this craziness, we will find it all boils back to education; a lot of the social inequities of our past: I think that's very key."

Bermuda's public education system has been heavily criticised in recent years, but the Minister said: "It's not just in the classroom, I'm saying we should talk to our kids more, be more family-oriented.

"I think we all know the more educated our people are, and the more we have a family togetherness, I think our hope for having a harmonised, healthy climate in which we live stands a hell of a lot better chance.

"If we don't fix our education and the wealth gap in this Country, I think we will have problems."

Mr. DeSilva, the PLP's only white MP, said whites receive a headstart simply because of their skin colour a point repeatedly stressed by commentators such as race consultant Rolfe Commissiong.

Some argue that line of thought gives young black people an excuse not to try making their own luck.

On this suggestion, Mr. DeSilva said: "I take it back to education again; I take it back to the inequities of the past. It's about education in the classroom; the education you get from your family."

He urged black families to teach better sex education, while recalling when he was young whites were taught to save money, yet often blacks would spend whatever was left over on material goods.

Asked what he would say to young black people on the streets, Mr. DeSilva said: "I would say first of all, why ain't you working? Let's work harder to find a job. After you find a job, let's work hard to find another job.

"I have personally had to lay guys off in recent weeks. It's going to be tough, but you have got to show you're a man. They can go and do something illegal to try and survive, but you have to be strong, be a leader, not a follower.

"You have got to be as strong as you can and sacrifice. A lot of our people don't want to sacrifice. You can't have it both ways. Most of our [black] people haven't been drilled by their parents don't buy those designer jeans. Don't spend money on having your nails done. Stop taking those trips."

He said he recently met somebody who was hard-up yet spends thousands of dollars a year smoking cigarettes, while other people splash out on new outfits for Cup Match.

Reflecting on his time as a young man, he said: "I said, 'I want to be an independent guy'. The only way I could do that was to work my ass off. You have got to work, you have got to save. Find a way in which you can work two or three jobs.

"For my first apartment, rent was $250 a month, and I was earning $50 a week. I had to go and find another couple of jobs. Hustling every which way I could. The thing is, save.

"I hope our people learn how to save and sacrifice. Youngsters coming up from zero, they have to have that mindset. They can do it."