The Archbishop Rev Filipe Neri Ferrao created a massive and positive tectonic movement altering the discourse on Goa’s mining that no one has, with such great impact. While it does resonate with the Goenchi Mati Movement, based on the principle of passing on inherited minerals which we own as mere custodians, to the next generation, his words have the power of intergenerational inspiration since the fruits of the Goenchi Mati Movement will be sampled by future generations.
The Goenchi Mati Movement is based on the twin principles of community ownership and custodianship of minerals, our natural resources. It is based on the belief that mining can be done responsibly, and keeping in mind the future generations of Goan citizens, who can benefit from it too.
At the core of this lies the insistence that all amounts from mining should be saved in the Permanent Fund, thereby, according to the official mission statement of the movement, “insulating the budget from the boom & bust commodity cycle”. This will result in politicians and governments not having access to easy mining money or money from minerals.
There was a time when the government was run completely on mining royalty and taxes making it incumbent upon the government to cater to the needs of the mining industry. The priority to deliver to the tax-paying public was obviously on the backburner because their share of taxes was not running the government. A permanent fund which the government of the day doesn’t have access to is the need of the hour because this will truly be a peoples fund as opposed to a government fund and will be passed from generation to generation. This is the intergenerational equity that Archbishop Rev Filipe Neri Ferrao spoke about.
He said, “We are trustees of our land holdings. It is our solemn duty to ensure that the value of the land is passed on to our children and future generations. Only then may we enjoy the fruits, shared equally.”
For the first time, someone of his stature has stated that the custodians of mineral wealth are the people of this land and they hold this wealth in custody temporarily, while the fund emanating from the proceeds of the sale of mineral wealth, is permanent and available for future generations.
While the substance of the Goenchi Mati Movement has been crystallised into a solid document and a manifesto for political parties to study and adopt, not a single party has endorsed it and accepted it as a way forward. This is not surprising, considering how political parties and governments have depended on mining wealth in various forms, the direct way through royalty and the vast indirect way, by simply turning a blind eye to rampant corrupt mining excesses including digging and scooting without any regulations. This was the real mining “loot”.
The journey for the Goenchi Mati Movement will be long and hard. Political endorsement will be near impossible in the present climate. Social acceptance and endorsement, including from economists and people of repute like Padma Shri awardees will add weight to the movement.
But, it is clearly evident, that the biggest endorsement has come from the Archbishop, a man of faith who many in these elections will be looking upto for guidance, a guidance which will be provided. His words will resonate and give new movement to the Goenchi Mati Movement.
