SATURDAY, MAY 04, 2024
When the new dawn breaks on Monday morning, it will be just another day for Herald in the service of being a companion, a brethren, a fellow crusader, a shoulder to lean in, a post office for people’s views, an information highway bringing the world to their doorstep and above all a carrier of truth.
The journey of Herald has been a journey for all of us in Goa. And on Monday, we will cross yet another milestone on this road. The 39th one, with each milestone marking one year of the “English” Herald.
But almost all of us see this as a much longer journey, over a century old, 123 years to be exact when the edifice on which Herald still stands and has, grown was curated- to hold systems to account through the power of information and analysis, going beyond the confines of official information, and yet respecting official information as needed since news is primarily a knowledge and information service.
But then the news would be plain, without plain speaking. It would be ordinary without extraordinary journalism, and blunt unless the truth was spelt out bluntly.
Therefore 39, is not a separate journey, it is a part of the 123, subsumed by the longevity of the simple exercise of delivering truth daily, through fires, pandemics, and other attempts to subvert us from doing our jobs at postmen and women delivering your Herald daily, so that you are better informed.
To some, it’s a battle we fight, to us it is a quiet daily resolve to celebrate Goa to highlight Goans, to recall moments of pride, to embrace our histories, to toast our futures, and above all guard our Goa freely against wrongdoings that will unfairly cripple our dreams.
We are not against anybody. We are simply a people’s paper, above specific faiths or political beliefs and dogmas.
Our biases lean towards people and their genuine interests and in that process often lean against forces that prevent that from happening. We pursue the middle ground to break walls of misunderstanding between those who should serve and the people, who should be served.
Thus can any government say we are against them? We are pro-people and hence are pro-state. That is the side we are on. And pro-state is pro-people because even now, we say that a government is chosen by the people
If any government sees and understands this, it will figure that its biggest worry is the genuine condemnation of the people, if they feel cheated. And its biggest glory is when people are proud of their government.
Herald has, we believe, and we are told, tried to be that stabilizing force that helps steady governance if it tilts away from people. And one must understand that the single biggest bane which pulls people away from governance is when those who govern, assume that the treasury of the state is their personal property. That is the root of everything. You fix that, you fix governance, you fix delivery, you fix equality, you fix happiness. Here’s how:
The integrity of our government force is all important. Keeping a watch is our job
We need stabilizers, for protecting our reserves and saving the integrity of our public service. Governments dip into their treasuries and spend it all. Spending goes up but revenue doesn’t. This leads to increasing debts that need to be incurred to pay off spiralling debts before going into the next debt cycle.
Corruption is one of the biggest reasons for the increase in government spending across the country and the world. It subverts the system. The performance of the state depends on the competence and integrity of individuals in key posts in the public service- those in the four pillars of democracy, those in statutory bodies, the police, and the civil services both national and the state cadre. Once corrupt persons get into key positions, the cancer of corruption hits the system.
The difference between the actual cost and kickbacks is borne by the exchequer. It is public money that gets looted
If the cost for each project from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 200 crore and even more has an element of kickbacks, the difference between the actual cost and kickbacks is borne by the exchequer. It is public money that gets looted. In the absence of a strong anti-corruption mechanism, enough scrutiny on enough cases of corruption is not done.
Anti-corruption institutions like the Lok Ayukta have been defanged by governments across the country. In Goa too we have had dedicated Lok Ayuktas who have delved into and recommended serious action against government functionaries but till the day they packed up and left, no action had been taken on their recommendations
If people begin to wonder if they should go to or run away from the police station when in trouble, the system is broken
The Indonesian president had once used the term Judicial mafia; to lament about how the judiciary in that country had become corrupt and a part of the problem, In parts of India and Goa, there are strong people voices that say the same thing about the integrity of the section of the police force. And the senior most in the force and their political masters must take responsibility for this.
If criminals, murderers, and drug dealers, begin to believe that there will be elements in the state police force , who will protect them, the system will be finished and will come back and haunt those who think they can benefit from a corrupt system, including the mafia that bribes the system.
When the elite Hyderabad police felt that they were not “getting cooperation” from the Goa police in helping them get those drug dealers in Goa who were named in drug investigations in Hyderabad, they expressed it.
Even as the Goa police scrambled to defend its position saying no formal request had been made, the dissatisfaction expressed by the Commissioner of Police of another state on the unwillingness of the Goa force to go after those who have been a part of Goa’s nightlife and tourism ecosystem but were named in serious drug offences; was shocking.
Herald took it as its responsibility to pursue this not as a story but revisit its crusade against drugs.
If those responsible for safeguarding the state's assets raid the bank, or those voted to be custodians of our land and what is grown on them, steal the harvest for themselves, signposts, and lighthouses, that we at Herald feel we are, have to simply do our job.
Elections have become auctions
Elections have become auctions where promises are made which can only be fulfilled by literally “raiding the bank” as it were. With the exchequer already bleeding due to corruption, political spending by governments leads to fatal blood loss for our financial systems.
Now, this needs to be seen, analyzed, discussed and highlighted. We have very humbly, yet very proudly played a part in keeping systems looking over their shoulder when they know that their actions are reducing trust and faith. One cannot claim success always but where success has been 100 % is showing the mirror to power and authority.
Therefore, we need forces that strengthen and stabilize our system of government. For whom? For the people and for governments themselves. A well-run government benefits first those who govern. A treasury well stocked, funding people-oriented programs and generating wealth at the same time, preserving natural resources, farms, hills, and traditional occupations is a possibility.
Where is our future? Have we saved for our future? Have we kept hope and revival in reserve? Do we have a plan to stop the bloodletting of our finances so that we have the funds to spend on the right causes- to divert the loss due to corruption and areas like public health, rural infrastructure, skill training, and primary and secondary education?
On this annual red-letter day, let us go beyond pledges and promises. Let us all say a little prayer in our own way to allow and bless a community-led institution of truth with health to carry on, with resolve to do its duty and humility to learn from genuine errors if any, and do better each day and pass the test of its people.
