FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024
Forty-seven days into the national lockdown and a week after Dr Pramod Sawant hastily declared Goa COVID-19 free, we stand at the cusp of a unique opportunity. We are the first State to be marked completely green and the country is watching how Goenkars are taking on life in the post COVID world.
For the last few weeks, I have been voicing out how we need to jump start our economy and get our education system back on track. Our approach to the schooling system must be fundamentally different. Safety of the teachers, students and the other staffers needs to be a cornerstone of how we design our education policy.
Multiple flipflops on the dates of exams have left children and their parents confused. With repatriation efforts underway, there is a possibility of fresh cases of COVID-19 in the State. It is extremely foolish for the government to conduct exams at this stage and risk exposing the children and in turn their parents.
Children from Class III to VIII can be promoted without exams, priority is to keep them engaged and focus their energies on learning. Foundational literacies, such as basic math concepts and languages can be enriched. Our teachers should be actively involved in finding solutions to teach virtually by leveraging technology. Maximising learning and minimising physical presence while using the latest technology should be our goal.
There are existing e-learning apps and platforms that many students across the State use free of cost, the government should explore collaborations with these providers proactively.
Other States use innovative techniques such as interactive voice responses along with older technologies like radio and TV to reach out to students. Some schools have independently started sending physical training workout lessons to keep their students fit while staying indoors. If our best minds – from educators to eminent professors and teachers – can work on this problem together, I am confident that Goa can be the next education hub.
Currently, our government seems to be constituting committees and coming up with stopgap solutions, but these are pointless and a complete failure if the larger vision is lacking. The same appears true when it comes to jumpstarting the economy of the State.
The Centre has so far announced aid that corresponds to 0.8 per cent of our GDP. This is woefully inadequate if we are to even survive with a reduced growth rate this year. With a BJP government at the Center and the State, Sawant should start Dhan ki Baat with PM Modi and secure funds for Goa.
Goa must step in immediately and offer relief to the different sections of the people that are suffering. Before being hit by the corona crisis, we already had the highest unemployment rate in the country. This number is expected to go higher unless there is serious intervention from the State and Central governments.
Temporary relief measures like deferred payment on electricity and water bills, moratorium of at least six months on loans to self-employed, unemployed and small businesses will go a long way in boosting consumption locally. Of course, the State can’t take all these calls on its own, but if there is enough willingness, they must talk to the Centre and get it done.
For small and micro enterprises, that employ a significant number of people, paying salaries and utility bills are a basic concern in times of no cash flow. Interest free loans to pay salaries should be provided. Government can reimburse the base interest to banks at the base rate. Also, 80 per cent salaries to employees of Goa-based enterprises should be reimbursed for the next three months.
Presently, we have talented IT professionals and entrepreneurs who can contribute to the State with a focus on the health sector as well as resolving the unemployment crisis.
Medium and large enterprises should be offered low interest loans for working capital in the next few months. It is imperative that consumption doesn’t drop any further and unemployment is contained.
The Chief Minister has been making statements about bringing industries from China to Goa, but not a single word on how the existing industries that are suffering can be helped. Such kneejerk reactions appear to be only for the sake of grabbing eyeballs instead of long term vision.
Tourism, one of our major sources of revenue, has been affected and given global trends, it will stay low for the next few months. Taxi drivers, shack owners, small business owners in the costal belt have taken a big blow from the lack of tourism. Tax relaxations for all stakeholders in this sector is the key. Providing relief in times of external crisis is a fundamental role of the government and it must not fail the citizens at such times.
Looking beyond the next three months, we should plan with the intent of raising revenues in the medium to long term. Tourism needs to be bolstered while making sure that we don’t inadvertently import COVID-19 cases into the State. Goa government must actively look at measures such as travel bubbles, lowering VAT on ATF, COVID free passports and ramping up medical facilities for inbound tourists.
It is time for us to focus on new economies and revive traditional occupations like pissiculture and agriculture that used to fare so well in the Portuguese era. Now is the time for the government to prove that they mean business with khare Goenkarponn and develop agriculture in Goa.
The writer is MLA
and a former Minister
