It was reported that Dr Wilfred Misquita said that Goans working in government offices are the ones who are fuelling corruption. Does this mean that the non-Goans are all paragons of virtue? We Goans are our worst enemies as the charges of corruption are leveled against fellow Goans by the BJP spokesperson who himself is a Goan.
The government has finally accepted defeat in tackling corruption. The root causes of corruption are manifold. One is the way some of our elected leaders amass wealth after they become ministers. Our leaders should set an example to others in the government by their honesty, hard work and diligence. What can one expect from the bureaucrats when their political masters themselves are corrupt?
Second, it is well known that government jobs are not given on merit but are auctioned to the highest bidders. The vacancies are advertised in the newspapers only as a formality, the post is filled by someone who has contacts and/or has deep pockets. The candidate who gets the job has to make up for whatever he has paid. The concerned leaders who cry wolf that corruption cannot be eliminated in India are aware of what is going on but have no political will to tackle it at source.
Even the Right to Information Act has no teeth to eliminate corruption as the bureaucrats try to avoid furnishing information on one pretext or another and even if they do so it is not what is requested in the application form. At times the information is not forthcoming in the stipulated time period of one month. The Information Officer knows that he will not have to pay the fine for the delay, as very often the applicant does not pursue the matter up to the level of Chief Information Commissioner, who is the only authority to levy the penalty.
To conclude, the government should not find excuses to cover up its shortcomings. The government has been elected based on the manifesto of eradicating corruption in the State. Corruption is a disease which needs to be treated like any other disease with proper diagnosis and treatment or else we will never succeed in eradicating it.
