------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | New on Goanet's website's A&E section - http://www.goanet.org | | Book in Review: A Kind of Absence - Joao da Veiga Coutinho | | POEM: SUSEGAAD - Cynthia Gomes James | | http://www.goanet.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=216 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- George Pinto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > It is no secret that political representatives in > Goa (MLAs, even a current MP) have looted the > public treasury. There are no official statistics on > these matters given the nature of the activity, but I doubt > more than 15% of allocated public expenditures go to the > project, 85% fill politicans' pockets. Given this scenario it > is difficult to be optimistic about Goa's future since in a > globalized world, including the tourism sector, it is > important to be cost effective. How can Goa compete when only > 15% is actually spent on the project, making each project 7 > times more expensive. > Mario wonders: > While I agree with George that there is corruption in Goa, corruption has always been rampant in the public sector in India, not just in Goa. In fact, the public sector is notoriously innefficient around the world, even when it is not corrupt. MLA's and MP's cannot engage in corruption without an army of bureaucrats and sycophants to help them. This is precisely why India dragged it's economic feet for 50 years until the public sector began to be dismantled, ever so slowly. > I must also question George's methodology, which may be more useful in getting people to wring their hands, but would dilute credibility when it comes to actually doing something about the problem. > Without having any facts to back up his claim, George says he "doubts" that more than 15% goes to the project. He then wonders how Goa can compete with the rest of the world when "only 15%", a figure he had created out of thin air, is "ACTUALLY spent on the project". > Competent engineers should be able to arrive at an estimate of the cost of a project and compare it with the government's budget to arrive at a closer and more objective estimate of what has gone into the project and what has "disappeared". These should be publicized in the media and used by opposing politicians. > Such expert estimates are routinely used in the advanced democracies by political opponents of those in power when similar corruption is alleged. If no one is willing to step up and enter the political fray, using credible information instead of wild claims, then the place gets the government it deserves. > What is the alternative? Armed revolution? A Chinese-style totalitarian form of government? In China, politicians caught in such corruption would be executed. > Furthermore, raising alarms and wringing one's hands from halfway around the world is unlikely to get the problems addressed, much less solved. >