To add to Tony's & Cornel's posts, it may be also adviseable for the department
who scrutinises the accounts & receipts of the MPs to also delve a little
deeper and question where the extra dosh comes from when there are Mining or
Development interests .............. which some MP's I am led to believe appear
to either own, or are directors / etc of these firms.
If earned legally, the fine they can own up to it and inform their
constituency they have interests in these areas, if not then they ought to be
penalised (financially as well as losing their jobs, possibly jail depending on
the legality or illegality of the mining & whether permission was gained
legally or by bribes etc for the development projects being just two areas
currently decimating Goa & Goan interests).
As for UK, when the tabloids or the media in general find that any MP has
misbehaved or been indulging a little too much in the trough, they are named
and shamed. The leader of the party has to take note, or lose the next
election, so the person found to be guilty or associated to anyone or related
to anyone who is guilty or found to be guilty, has extended leave to spend more
time with his family, in other words, he is sacked.
Lesser indulgences by those at the top of the food chain usually get
"gardening leave", which is out of the public year for a year or two, then
return at some point in the future.
MPs salaries compared to the Blue Chip companies bosses are a pittance, but
to us on the lower rungs of the ladder, its a massive amount, but in reality
you have to be public-minded & want to do good for your fellow-man/woman to be
an MP. Its a thankless job, it does not last long, unless you are really loved
by your constituency so they vote you in again and again.
But overall, the money they get is not anywhere like the Euro MP's who have
been feeding from the trough, not to mention those who are also bringing their
family members onto the gravy train! This has been going on since it all began
way back when, and it aint gonna change. All the UK old guard who are no
longer MPs in the UK or not in the public eye every week or even by the month
are chomping their way into obesity, in size of the bank accounts to their
waist lines - and there is nothing we can do about it!
As Cornel says, its not up to us to advise the Goan government or indeed the
Indian Government on how to run its show, but since the Law & other
institutions were modelled from the Brits and made into India's own system,
perhaps it would not hurt if a Parliamentary Scrutiny Committee could be formed
to investigate ALL MP's and (especially) local councillors, taking action when
the media or individual supplies information on those who are stealing by
stealth, as well as those who are raping Goa!
And if anyone knows of a committee already formed to do this work, then we
ought to ask whether this committee ought to be disbanded & allow the Prime
Minister to take personal responsibility for ALL the members of the Parliament,
in Goa & in India in general.
John Monteiro
CORNEL DACOSTA <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Hi Tony. I too have been staggered
and disgusted at the size of hospiality expenses claimed by Ministers in Goa.
But this may not be too different from substantial claims made by UK
politicians for themselves while asking the public to economise on things like
essential postage for official purposes or not to flush the toilet too often!
Fortunately, all claims by politicians in the UK are now being scrutinised
thoroughly and their perks reconsidered. This has been much influnced by the
'anger' displayed, particularly in the popular tabloid press. While I do not
claim to give people in Goa any advice, I hope this info will be useful there
to consider the need for firm scrutiny and reduction in the size of
politicians' expense claims. The local daily papers could help greatly in this
respect if they do not do so already.
Cornel DaCosta
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--- Tony de Sa wrote: The figures given by Lionel Messias on the opulent
indulgence of the Ministers by way of their food, drink and air fare bills are
a constant source of amazement to me.
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Regards
John Monteiro
