Goan Corruption Simplified

Imagine this scenario; you have decided to go to Panaji from Margao to attend an anti mining rally. You reach the bus stop, as you are about to enter the bus, somebody picks your pocket. You had five thousand rupees in the purse, and more importantly id’s and other documents. You see the thief running, not at great speed, and you realize that you have a chance to catch the thief. In that split second, what would be your decision?

You had two choices; miss the bus to Panaji, run after the thief in the hope of getting your belongings, or forget about the purse and think that there is bigger loot happening to Goa in the form of illegal mining, hence take the bus to Panaji.

If one poses this hypothetical question to Goans, most would impulsively decide to run after the thief. That does not mean that those running after the thief have no interest in stopping illegal mining, but their first priority would be to secure their possessions and rightly so. To protect our belongings is human nature, but lately the debate on illegal mining seems to have sidelined other forms of corruption. In the process Goans seem to have let their guard down and have allowed thieves to continue stealing our personal purses with impunity. Worse most Goans are completely unaware of the loot they are subject too. Is our ignorance on the complexities of taxation and government spending affecting our judgment?

If one goes by media reports, almost any type of infrastructure project the government undertakes is involved in kickback corruption. This means every contractor or service provider that obtains a government contract, gives a percentage of the value of the contract to the deciding person either in cash or kind as a kickback. The bigger the contract the bigger the kickback, this explains why politicians make such a hue and cry on allotment of plum portfolios.

In that case tackling kickback corruption should be the number one priority of every Goan, who by the way is the financial sponsor of the entire transaction. The ignorance of the common Goan, that he hardly contributes to the tax collection mechanism actually fuels kickback corruption. We seem to identify and impulsively run after that thief picking our pocket on the street, but are unable to comprehend that kickbacks insisted by powerful people, in their posh offices, on government contracts are also a percentage of our contributions. It is money that got deducted as tax and could not find a way to our purse in the first place. Is it not our responsibility that the money we contributed, should be used for the purpose it was collected and does not go into someone else’s personal kitty?

Politicians seem to prosper on this ignorance and it is in every political party interest not to edify the voter with this information. The opposition if interested in coming back to power should have just one agenda, go to the poor and ignorant and simplify the taxation code. But which political leader will go to the masses, climb the stage and announce to the audience, that the official car he came in is from their contribution.

If corruption has reached escalated levels in Goa, part of the blame lies with the opposition. Their blow hot blow cold attitude in targeting individuals intermittently on corruption, seem to confuse the already confused Goans. It is in their interest to expose corruption to the people of Goa in totality.

Someday illegal mining will come to an end, probably because of the sustained pressure from media and activists and more so when the world commodity cycle turns down. But kickback corruption has a robust revenue model; if not tackled it has the potential to wreck havoc on Goa. Already politicians have started justifying to voters that kickbacks are compulsions of politics. We don’t want a situation wherein Generation Next believes that taking kickbacks is the only way to success and wealth.

Above Article appeared in Herald Goa on 20th December 2011