Those who do have power or money should be insured by the system
The system should be such that people are protected not just by jobs but avenues of self-employment and financial security
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– While government jobs attract all, it is a fact that government jobs are used as a vote quota for politicians
– The basic big expenses which people have to spend on are education and health. When the economy goes down and jobs and employment opportunities go down, the capacity to spend on education also goes down. What a people’s government has to do is ensure that education right from primary to graduation covering secondary education both in private and in government institutions is covered by the state. This is a bigger need than free power, water or jobs.
Where have Goans suffered recently: During the COVID peak, with 70 deaths per day around a four-week period, many of them due to lack of oxygen, the floods
These are times when you need the reassuring presence of the system and those who run it. While Goa has reached a zero-death figure, though cases are still reported regularly, can families ever get over the loss of multiple members? Some have lost their spouses, children and parents in a matter of weeks. Many have struggled to find hospital beds and oxygen cylinders. Yes, this has been a story of India, with such a small population, the number of cases and deaths were higher than the national average. The lesson to be learnt here is that the health system needs to be organised at the primary health centre level, and there has to be infrastructure to ensure that the cases don’t all land up at the GMC.
In future preparation has to be of the highest order, there should be enough beds and oxygen and much more trained medical personnel. While lessons must have been learnt, it is important to have a health infrastructure where things must run smoothly without anybody needing favours to get basic treatment, anywhere, including private hospitals, some of whom were issuing bills that would wipe out the entire life savings of patient’s families.
Goa doesn’t have earthquakes, cyclones, tsunamis and yet, a bout of torrential rain does this to us
Floods: When homes got destroyed and houses too what people need is quick action. Flood relief and compensation needed to be immediate. The compensation announced for those who have lost their homes is a reconstructed house with Rs 4 lakh for all, with the government spending Rs 2 lakh and the Rotary international another Rs 2 lakh. This begs the question. Shouldn’t the government have offered more for reconstructed homes and added the Rotary offer as a buffer. Is the amount reasonable especially, when the number of houses (5000) is not such a big figure.
When a long standing problem of society is not solved, it shows the system has failed: Like kidney failure cases in Canacona
Out of the total kidney patients admitted in the GMC, roughly 80 per cent were from Canacona taluka. The issue has been discussed in the Assembly and mentioned that each year there are at least 14 cases of complete renal failure from Canacona. Almost three surveys have been conducted but there is still no comprehensive analysis of the exact cause of this critical ailment which has even forced many families to leave the taluka.
Has a single party made this an important issue and devoted time and resources to this?
A people’s government should be the voice of those who do not have a voice
The job of any true people’s government is to give people a voice. When voices are heard, genuine mistakes are forgiven. But when the voices of only the powerful are heard and the powerless have no one to turn to, then democracy fails. And this is when people get together to look for options that are people centric. The reason why governments change is mainly this. It is not so much about the government’s fulfilling its promises than about hearing people and lending a shoulder to support.
An inefficient government that hears people and has intent, has a better chance than a government with no heart.
When candidates come to seek votes, these are the standards of accountability, that should be demanded from them
In the coming elections, people should ask candidates who have contested earlier and won a report card of their achievements and a clear admission of their failures. For new candidates and those contesting again, they should demand a list of things they will do, in addition to what is mentioned in their party manifestos.
This report card should be a major tool for decision making. After all, if people expect politicians to deliver, it is they who must hold them accountable.
