* Ask yourself, can you get anything done in Goa without paying bribes
* Bribes are not given in a corner or under the table. There are fixed rates for all services that can be paid over the table
* Is this the ease of business that was promised in Goa?
In villages across Goa, with no jobs and opportunities for self-employment, there are a large number of proud Goans with smiles on their faces. But pain in their hearts. They have either no jobs or lost their jobs and are at home. Opportunities for self-employment are almost nil and there are no industries or opportunities for skill development.
So how are Goans managing? Through “will” power
Through the wills left behind by their ancestors which have given their next generations ownerships of property, assets, businesses and land. Their next generations are living either off those properties or using the land and the trees to cultivate, harvest and lease. Or they are living off remittances sent by hardworking sons and daughters of the soil who have gone outside the state and the country to make an honest living. There they make sacrifices and save to send enough and more so that their families back in Goa can live comfortably. But is the state doing anything?
Goa was supposed to be land of opportunities. It was supposed to be a land of ease of doing business
The only business which is done with ease and is profitable is the bribery business. Do ask yourself, is there any work, from the smallest to of course the biggest that can be done without bribes being paid. There is no hesitation here, it is open and direct and it is shamelessly asked and is openly given. It is so shameless that it is no longer an under the table transaction. Over the table is just as fine.
Yes, this is the only institution that is pandemic proof and inflation proof. It is has seeped into our system and the way institutions and organisations function. At times one should ask if one is sure that dead bodies do not have to ask to pay bribes for the performance of their last rites.
Who suffers? Not the rich and powerful but the poor
Those who have the money get their work done. And for their ease of business bodies like the Investment Promotion Board were created and corporations like the GSDIC were formed to lay every brick and pave every road, in the name of infrastructure. But did it help small businesses? Did these bodies ever help the common Goan or their small businesses? In the name of a single-window clearance, how much investment did it really attract and out of the ones that did manage to start, how many of them were enterprises that eventually helped Goan enterprise and employment? They actually spoilt the legacy of Goa and the enterprise of Goans.
The IPB is a white elephant. Is it an investment board or a land agent?
The IPB has proved to be nothing but a white elephant easing the business of special people and projects, the majority of which are real estate and mega projects leaving one to wonder whether it’s an investment board or a land agent. And on the board of IPB you will find a representative from the GCCI, more often than not interested in his or her business interests rather than helping small businesses.
Projects are cleared under the pretence of “eco-tourism” with a vague projection of the jobs created. Let there be absolute clarity in the form of white paper on the specific number of local jobs for each of the cleared projects has been created by furnishing the appointment letters for each post.
GSIDC is an ally of many businesses. In the name of infrastructure and roads, the GSIDC has become a supporting agency to facilitate the larger ecosystem of megaprojects that are turning Goa into a concrete jungle. It has replaced the functioning of other departments like the PWD (not that the PWD is without blame).
But the Congress will be no different. Actually, in the manner in which it is being run and the kind of leadership it now has, deal-making will be a policy
The way the Goa Congress is conducting its affairs in a deal centric manner, the BJP may well turn out to be better than this Goa Congress which it comes to the destruction of institutions. We are sitting on a time bomb. The alternative is a local Goan party with clean people with good backgrounds who you will select and chose. And Herald will help you take those steps of change.
Unless that happens, this is one of the things that will happen. Megaprojects which mean mega destruction like the one sanctioned in St Cruz will be common
High end mega projects with each flat sold for crores are out of reach of most Goans. They are bought mainly for investment and holiday homes of people, from the metros. These are the rich ‘bhumi-putras’. And to facilitate those projects on land that is converted, hills that are cut, roads that are widened. The one in St Cruz is massive. And the number of people projected to live there is higher than the population of the village.
Nothing ‘smart’ about crores wasted on the SMART city project
Look at the Smart City projects itself. The only thing smart about it is the manner in which crores and crores of money, ultimately people’s money, that has been spent supposedly for infrastructure which is not quite visible. At the same time, Panjim is looking worse, its roads caving in and the entrance to the city looks like a moon crater of potholes.
Ad hoc projects without any thought to the city have been sanctioned. For instance, the memorial to Manohar Parrikar on the Miramar beach goes against all norms and laid down principles. Apart from obvious CRZ issues, can a monument of this nature be made right on the beach when the space of a bench cannot be extended? There can be monuments and statues in the memory of leaders but there is a place for all this. And the middle of a public beach is certainly not the place.
Most of these white elephants were either created or took the shape they did during the Manohar Parrikar led government that assumed power in 2012 and then the next government was formed in 2017 with him returning back to the state, the ease of doing business dream was shattered. Then when his health critically deteriorated, and Goans got together to pray for his recovery, one had expected that for health and governance reasons, he would hand over power to someone else so that the state could be run smoothly. He, however, kept all decision making to himself, even when he was in the USA for treatment with an official of the Goa government stationed with him. Bureaucracy and government officials who were in charge assumed power and took advantage of the situation.
From ease of business, Goa became one of the worst places to do business in because no decisions were taken and nothing moved.
So what are the solutions. What is the way forward?
– There needs to be freedom for people to get their work done and their businesses moving on merit
– They should get licences and NOCs without paying bribes or using any influence
– An industrial revolution can happen by helping the local industry. Zones for manufacturing and industries can be created where small companies can take spaces where all their needs are taken care of
– Skill development collaborations can happen with skilled experts in different fields like shirt manufacturing, furniture making and many such enterprises coming and training Goans, in turn, will become skilled manufacturers. Here you don’t have to give the government jobs. You will empower people to be self-reliant, and experts from outside will help local businesses become viable.
This is the real ease of doing business. Where you make it easy for Goans to do business
– Tendering should be absolutely transparent. The tendering process should be public and there should be open tenders, and for the people in small towns and villagers who can participate without any big-time contractor cornering all tenders. Money can be then distributed properly. Organisations like the EDC can be reshaped to ensure that professionals running it to make these bodies lend a helping hand to small enterprises by giving them easy loans. Importantly the government should help small businesses get these loans.
– Importantly the first priority should be for the well being of the people without caste or religion or from where they vote coming into the picture. When that happens, the GMC will not be called the VMC (Valpoi Medical College). Departments are becoming vehicles for increasing the political fortunes of ministers and MLAs. Jobs and posts are either doled out or sold out. People sometimes even have to sell their properties to get jobs. Is this the ease of business? Will this ever work for the people.
– The government should be run by professionals. Goa needs smart people to shape policies and run government departments. And the choices people make will depend on the choices that are made with regard to bringing professionals on board. Herald will soon show the way how this can be done.
Goa needs to be land of opportunity. It should attract good tourists. That is not happening now
There was a time Goa was free and liberal and comfortable for those who came. The beaches were clean and pristine and people could go with their partners and families, wear beach appropriate clothes and not get uncomfortable stares or requests for pictures to be taken with ladies, by groups of single men from neighbouring states.
Now, we say this respectfully, will foreign tourists, especially women wearing minimal but appropriate beachwear ever feel comfortable going onto the sea full of “bhumis”? There should be a basic beachwear code and underwear cannot be a part of that code.
Will good tourists like others cooking on the beach, littering, throwing glass bottles and even defecating? This is not only a nightmare but this affects the ease of doping business of even locals in the tourism sector who are in the business of tourism-related activities, When Goa’s stock falls and tourists elsewhere, Goa’s economy takes a huge jolt.
We have an opportunity to have a better Goa. Goans have to ensure that this opportunity is not lost. It is not about which party comes. All we have to ensure is that opportunistic parties and political forces are kept out.
