Illegal = Legal, STOP IT

This first appeared in "The Goan Everyday"

In my last column, I had appealed to the local authorities to address the problem of illegal constructions and unauthorised structures on the public land by enforcing the existing rules. Lo and Behold, a news report reminded me that the Government was seriously apprised about the problem and were working on the solution. The options were, do nothing or follow the law and remove the illegal structures. The Government seems to have found another route, change the law and make everything legal.

Apparently in his budget speech of 2014, the then Chief Minister Parrikar had promised to legalise all structures which were constructed illegally. Apparently there are 30000 such structures around Goa. The logic apparently was that by making the structure legal it would be possible to collect atleast Rs 100 crores as house tax. Lots of money for a cash strapped Government. This way the Government would be able to make some money on services rendered. After all the illegality was only because the house owners could not complete the complex formalities related to getting construction permissions. Since Mr. Parrikar is elevated to the center, the current Chief Minister is ensuring that the promise is fulfilled.

Rather than first simplify the procedures so that no more illegal structures come up, the government in its wisdom decides to legalise the structures in one stroke. The Dy CM has gone a step further and has asked the panchayats to issue “house nos” because the cabinet has taken a policy decision. Imagine the confusion. “House nos” will be issued without following existing procedures. Once, “house nos” are issued the panchayat can start collecting house tax is the logic behind the hurry. The rider, “house no.” does not make the structure legal, it is only for the purpose of collecting tax. So this means in every panchayat we will have legal houses with house nos and illegal houses nos. More confusion.

The story does not end there. There is another complication, cutoff date. Already there are two cut off dates being bandied around, one 28 Feb 2014 and another 2000. Structures built before the cutoff date will survive. The logic of these cut off dates is not important. It is some date that seems to have popped up in the decisions makers mind. I wonder why they do not just say all illegal structures constructed “as on date” will be regularised, that way even the new illegal structures will get regularised as they come up. After all the government has taken a policy decision and moreover why wait and lose house tax revenue.

The only opposition to this seemingly hare brained scheme seems to be coming from the leader of the opposition, he seems to believe that the only beneficiaries of this scheme will be non goans who are illegally occupying goan land. There is no doubt that this could be close to the truth.

Then why were the Baina structures demolished, surely they could have contributed to the house tax, and dilly dallying on the structures on Chicalim comunidade land. There does not seem to be a single direction that the government wants to take, it is either case to case basis or area to area. Another way of putting it is the government is deciding as per their whims and fancies of elected representatives. Not really the best method for deciding a policy.

The cumbersome procedures that other law abiding citizens follow to build their homes has two parts. One part relates to the ownership of land. The permissions can only be given if the land is owned by the applicant and if the land is designated for settlement. The other part is the construction has to follow a set of rules with respect to setbacks, heights area etc. What this decision will do is ensure no one follows the cumbersome procedures, they will build where they want and how they want and then wait for the simple procedure of regularisation.

Another signal that this scheme will send immediately across the country is that Goa is a soft State and they welcome everyone with the promise of providing free land and “house no”, this is in addition to ration card, electricity water etc. That is why Goa is called Paradise?????

The solution our dear leaders have worked out is flawed and definitely not in the interest of goans or Goa. Since this decision benefits a section of the vote bank, the only beneficiaries will be the political class which must be keeping an eye on the forthcoming elections in 2017 or earlier.

So, all efforts must be made by law abiding citizens to force the government to rethink this goan unfriendly scheme. The citizens must push the law makers to reconsider the cumbersome procedures of home building, they are already thinking on those lines with reference to construction licenses of builders under PM Modi's, ease of business mantra, surely they can do the same for the AMM ADMI and see that Ache Din spreads to law abiding and not law breaking citizens.

The Rule Of Law: Needed to curb illegalities (Part 2)

This first appeared in "The Goan Everyday"

My previous column which highlighted the fact that Goa was a migrants El Dorado because it is easy to set up a home or business on the roadside or in any open space. Most of those who read it agreed with me, one political activist asked “So what can be done”.

The easiest answer is NOTHING. If we do nothing then there is no immediate hassle. There will be no stepping on the political toes that have encouraged this phenomena for self serving ends. There would be no need to fight the system. The down side to doing nothing is frightening. The most important is that the Legal Goan will be out numbered and therefore out gunned in his own back yard.

What can be done? One thing is certain, there is no need to add any new laws or rules to address the situation. The existing laws rules are sufficient to tackle the situation with reference to illegal gaddas(businesses) or homes.

The recent demolition of illegal homes at Baina or the small hut set up between an electric transformer and a pole in the heart of Margao are examples of how the existing rules are available and potent if the authorities decide to take action. The question that begs an answer is what were the authorities doing? Did the 180 -200 homes come up over night? How did the residents get ration cards, electricity water connections over the years? While the residents lost their homes, because the land did not belong to them, were they staying free or did they have to pay all and sundry to avail of the facilities normally reserved for legitimate houses? Why is not a single person from any authority suspended for allowing this illegality to happen under their noses and for years?

The person who built the hut in the middle of Margao chose a wrong place, had he picked a spot say on the new unfinished Comba bypass road, no one would have objected and in a few years he would have got himself neighbours and a brand new slum would have developed. A few religious structures would have been added and voila it becomes more than legitimate. Indestructible if you wish. The residents would also adopt the person they feel has the best chance of ruling the area as their Patron Saint for more security once they get the all important voting card.

The Baina demolitions exposed another unhealthy trend. That of politicians and bureaucrats from the States where the effected people originated, descending on the area in support of illegal activity. Instead of building a STATE Bhavan only for visiting politicians or well heeled residents why cannot the Sate authorities buy land in Goa and build legitimate residences for its migrating residents if they are so concerned?

The Church weighed in too. But, church land or land belonging to a religious order has been given to a business house in order to prevent encroachment. Surely what is sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander. The Church has vast properties, instead of selling it off to builders they can build low cost houses and give it to the poor so they do not have to live in illegal houses. Ofcourse the Chruch has a point, why only Baina, what about the other illegal structures all over the State, some very rich people also have built illegal structures on their property, should they not be demolished as they have violated the rules?

The best way to address this issue is two fold. 1) Do not allow any new illegal structure to come into play. 2) Systematically as done in the case of Baina, go after existing illegal structures.

Part one is easier said than done. Take the case of Baina and investigate carefully who gave permissions for electric connections to these homes. The Electricity Department has rules which have to be followed before releasing a new connection. Were they followed, if yes how could they have been followed? One needs a copy of a sale deed for example, what sale deed did these illegal houses provide? Similarly, these residents had ration cards and this implies they had house nos, issuing of house nos has its own procedure and rules, how did these residents complete the procedure. Surely the investigations will prove what is known, ie lapses in following procedure to issue the documents.

Once this is proved, the Officer who released the connection or ration card can be pinpointed and action can and should be taken against him. The moment this is done even in one case, the issue of fresh illegal ration cards and connections will stop. Today, no one is worried about any consequences of demolition except the effected resident who looses everything. If we go beyond demolitions and chase down the offending officials, there will be no new illegal structures.

The bottom line is follow the Rule of Law from today.

Tail piece: I know you are laughing and saying what about the politician, leave him alone. Once the bureaucrat decides to do the right thing, a politician can do nothing.

Illegal Gaddas and Homes: Ease of Migration (Part 1)

This First Appeared in "The Goan Everyday"

Europe is facing a crisis, and will have to figure out a solution sooner than later. The same solutions are required in Goa and no one appears to be thinking about it.

There is an argument that goans migrate all over the world and hence are in no position to complain. We do not hear on stories of Goans deported because the are living illegally anywhere. Nor do they create any nuisance by building shanties on other people's property or building illegal colonies, a la moti dongor with the help of local powers that be. Indians and now even foreigners have a right to settle in Goa under the existing laws and they should be welcomed if they make that choice. They must however follow the rules and respect those who live here.

The issue gets complicated because some people see migrants only as votes because they are a vulnerable class. They are in a new place and therefore easy to exploit. In addition, if they can be made permanently vulnerable so much the better. This is easily done by encouraging them to squat on land in different parts of a constituency and then holding the damocel's sword of demolition over them.

Goa draws many people because it promises a better life than that in most parts of India. The inflow comes from two avenues. The unregulated flow of people looking for work in the labour category, labour is required for mining, fishing, hotel and industrial activity. Two, the ability to easily set up a Gadda at any street corner without any fear of official action. Gaddas include pan, fruit, bhel etc

With goans showing aversion to jobs in the workmen/labour category due to the perception that wage is low, jobless youth from poorer parts of India have turned up to meet the demand. At the higher end, say officer level, the problem is not so bad as this category usually comes on a transfer so their housing etc is taken care of by the Company. Being from the middle or upper middle they are not potential vote bank material and hence not wooed by the powers that be.

These labourers usually live in areas where they work so Verna/ Sancoale for Verna Industrial Estate, or Zuari Nagar for Sancole industrial estate. In these areas, the locals have made it a business to rent out accommodation. Siting at home one can earn a tidy sum. Small (10 feet x 10 feet) rooms are rented out to as many as possible. These rooms usually do not have water, electricity or sanitation. The public at large therefore bears the social cost while it is the individual who rents that rakes in the moolah.

Given the easy money, these accommodations proliferate. They are usually illegal from planning point of view as they have no permissions or are built on encroached land. These structures which are rented out should be inspected by the authorities to ascertain their legality. If the structure is legal, then it should be checked to decide the number of people who can be accommodated in the room based on the infrastructure available, eg no of toilets, size of septic tank etc. The authorities should also ensure that every resident has a police clearance as required by the law.

When Goa was under Governor’s rule some years back the local people complained that the industrial estate was responsible for the problems that were plaguing the village viz: since there was no sanitation, the migrants were dirtying the fields and open spaces, there were instances of the local women running off and subsequently being duped and being abandoned in other parts of India. The industry body, felt that the locals were opening their doors to the outside labour on their own accord, as such industry was not responsible for the consequences. The local panchayat authorities had to act to prevent the encroachment, and illegal renting.

Move around anywhere in Goa and you will see gaddas mushrooming all over the place. The latest phenomena is every morning a vehicle drops a young man with a basket of fruit on the highway, the scene is repeated a kilometer ahead. The number per day depends on how many arrived. Go to the Margao market in the evening, 20-30 young men are selling fruit from baskets along the roads all over. Outside shops or restaurants, you will find a youth behind a small box, selling cigarettes and the banned gutka openly.

The local labour gets out priced because these workers stay in one room to reduce their costs, and since the labour rates in their own home town iare much lower they accept low wages. On the other hand the roadside sellers, pay no taxes, electricity bills etc and therefore out price the shopkeepers and effect their business.

In the interest of the law abiding locals, it would be imperative that the authorities stepped in and curbed this menace of illegal roadside business and rental services. It has to be done now or the problem will be too big to handle, the assumption here is that the problem is not so big yet.

Biz@Blaise: Land A Scare Resource

Recently a government official mentioned that a search was on for 450 odd acres of land for the proposed NIT. This requirement was getting to be very difficult to meet because the conditions were stringent, even the area earlier ear marked for the proposed sports city was not good enough.

The question is, who decides how much land is required for a particular project and do these people factor in the area that they are looking at. The fact that IIT Mumbai has 1000 acres or that BITS Goa is built on something similar forms the basis of such indents for land? Is availability not a factor, can Goa and and other State we looked at in the same way?

The land given to IIT in the early 60's was in an area in Mumbai where at that time no one would have believed was habitable. If you pass by IIT Mumbai, you will see low rise housing occupying what is now prime property. Surely if IIT Mumbai was being set up today, it would have been done with a much smaller piece of land but with the same standard of excellence. Infact across the road from IIT, Hirandani's have built tall buildings housing many more people in less land compared to the IIT. BITS Goa, developed the new campus keeping in mind the fact that the land had been left vacant for so long it was a sitting target for acquisition. Magarpatta township in Pune, is an example of win win acquisition, it is teeming with housing, schools and offices, it occupies 450 acres.

So if we need to set up an institute of excellence, will 50 acres or even less not be sufficient. The max no of students would be 5000 at the peak, assuming a teacher student ratio of 1:20, another 1000, another 1000 for support, giving a total of 7000 people housed in 50 acres. The numbers are on the higher side but even then it allows sufficient space. Some top institutes around the world will boast of being built on a much smaller footprint. So those planning the NIT should factor in Goa's paucity of land and come up with innovative designs that will require less land and still enable it to be a center par excellence. That way there will be less or no resistance from locals.

The continued acquisition of land for industry is causing angst among land owners. There is no doubt that land is required for industry. One possibility is that far sighted planners are acquiring and keeping lands for future industry. However this is not the case, the acquisition is for setting up industry today. This despite the fact that there are already acquired and allotted lands lying unused. Should utilising these vacant unused factories or buildings be a priority. The acquired land in industrial estates is allotted at concessional rates to entrepreneurs to start industry which will in turn employ people gainfully and contribute to the tax kitty which in turn will help development. Keeping them locked is not helping the objective.

Therefore the GIDC which is the nodal agency should consider ways and means to make these unit operational. One way would be to consider applying a non operational tax on all closed units so that they are forced to either restart or transfer in favour of someone who has an idea and wants the space. After all a closed unit is a white elephant, it neither contributes to the exchequer nor employs anyone. Under the watch of the previous Government, because the focus was on individual rather than the State, all industrial land was usurped by traders and utilised to store cement or steel and even tiles. Cost of land in the cities was far higher than even the unofficial price in industrial estates. In Margao for example if a sq mt was 20000/- + in the Verna Industrial Estate the unofficial price was just 4000/sqm. Cheap, if one was looking for godown space, but expensive if one was thinking of setting up a factory. The net result we have a corporate office, godowns by the dozen and even a bungalow in the industrial estate.

Maybe it is time to reconsider what we are acquiring land for, rather than say for only manufacturing we should also include services, IT/ITES financial services, where a single building will accommodate many more employees and contribute more tax revenues. This would be more efficient use of scarce goan land.

For Goa and goans, land is a scarce resource and should be treated that way. Every effort has to be made to get maximum value using minimum land. We always wish and look at Singapore as a model to be emulated. Singapore's educational institutions are now being recognised around the world and they do not have 450 acres each. The industrial activity in Singapore is something to be talked about and it coexists happily with the services industry. It is time our political setup began to think more in terms of Goa and not “self or party” Its time people start asking how development can be achieved using limited resources efficiently. If this happens, Goa will be a better land.

Biz@Blaise Black money Red Herring

Since his swearing in ceremony, PM Modi has impressed with his out of the box thinking. Was disappointed when in his latest Radio address, he has promised the country he will bring back poor people's money stashed away in foreign bank accounts.

First of all, whatever money is in politicians or bureaucrats secret and illegal accounts, it is surely poor people's money and belongs to all Indians. Money of rich businessmen in these accounts is partly due to us Indians, ie tax portion. My argument is with the end being attacked. Why are we focusing on bringing back money stashed abroad, why are we begging some countries to share information which is outdated at best, so much noise over the bank lists and then it is said they pertain to 2006.

We must focus on activities at home that generate this black money, a fraction of which then finds its way to a foreign bank. Ofcourse from these foreign banks the money is rerouted into India through channels in say the Cayman islands or other tax havens where no questions are asked. They thus legitimately enter back into India as FDI, PN or real estate. Some of it has even come back as RDX and that is why every right thinking Indian has to guard against black money. It may look like it is just another parallel economic activity to avoid paying tax on hard earned money, but it also opens doors for many antisocial and anti national activities.

If one has to target black money creation at home, one will seriously have to look at 1) Corruption : The principal generator of black money is corruption, it is the root of all evil. The new initiative to focus on MAKE IN INDIA and simplify paperwork will have an impact on reducing avenues for corrupt officials to make money. However reducing avenues for our politicians to make money is more difficult. Look at how every political party has opposed the EC guidelines to bring transparency into the system of political contributions.

2) Real estate business: by its very nature is most prone to dealing in black money. So much so that even salaried people have to convert white into black to be able to do a transaction. In Goa, we could have reduced the avenue for corruption in land conversions by adopting the regional plan but as you will notice it is not happening. Do not blame only the politicians as this flux situation surely benefits some vested interests who are not politicians.

3) Front companies are a bane, Just before the radio talk the PM asked banks to spearhead the search for money hidden behind a veil of subsidiaries and trusts. The new Companies Act has plugged many loop holes which were exploited in routing black money back into the system though a maze of subsidiaries. In the Jaylathia case the Judge referred to her numerous accounts to facilitate the movement of cash. This two pronged attack is a step in the right direction.

4) Tax Structures: The high incidence of tax makes people try and avoid paying. On the other had the penalty for not paying tax appears to be a slap on the wrist. So it makes evading tax lucrative and high return. Then there are issues like no tax on farm income, the only beneficiaries as farmers are genuinely poor are politicians who show huge as farm income. In Goa we use trawlers, you will notice that the fish find only politicians nets as rest of the fishermen do not make as much money selling fish. If the trawler owning fisherman looses the election his fortunes with fish also seem to change, fishy world.

These issues need a change in attitude in order to be addressed. The change in attitude is what Goa CM Parrikar has in mind but unable to practice. ZERO TOLERANCE to corruption. The reality is even if he catches someone corrupt he will prefer to transfer the person as proceeding is very tedious and time consuming. The famous Jayatiltha case went on for close to two decades and seems to be a first, while we all know there should be many more CM's in the same position. Zero Tolerance should include a harsh jail sentence, confiscation of property and speedy completion of trials as is being envisaged in rape cases. Not some silly penalty, a few days in jail and rest of your life to enjoy the spoils.

Zero tolerance would then mean that each individual feels it is his or her responsibility to curb black money/ corruption as it is anti national. They would compare the list with the facts on the ground and report assets held in benami names or which are not disclosed. No question of harassment, as once pointed out it can be quickly concluded by checking financial history if it actually belongs to the person or not. If yes, what is the source of income? If legitimate no issue, if not big problem. So simple.

In short if PM Modi is serious about money stolen from poor Indians, he should focus on the areas where the money is stolen, and stop or make stealing difficult and not where a small part of it is stored. This is India's biggest problem which he seems willing to address. If he does manage, it will make him one of India's greatest Prime Ministers.

Fightng Black Money is Like asking fish to dry the pond

The Lok Sabha debate on black money was a waste of time. The Finance Minister kept repeating himself, if the names of the account holders were to be disclosed in violation of the treaty, no country would share any information and if there were any evaders in the list they would get be free.

Waste of time because every political party starting with the Congress, every few minutes one member would rise say the same thing, the explanation was not satisfactory so we are walking out. Really, the Congress was at the helm of affairs when this issue surfaced. Could they not throw light on the issue which they want us to believe the Government is hiding and is a list of just 427 names worth walking out for.

 

Assume all 427 are guilty, will penalising them or putting them in jail going to rid the country of this menace. Their major point was that the BJP promised results in 100 days. The fact that black money abounds and most likely given the situation in Goa, most of it will be in the hands of ruling politicians. Ofcourse, you can hear them say in one voice, if proved we will resign. In short the debate in parliament to me was an eye wash.

While the BJP has a point, disclosing the names will not serve any long term purpose, on the other hand surely they can go after some of the black money still in the country. Or can that happen only after the 427 names are cleared.

Black money is of two types in my opinion. One which is unaccounted after a legitimate business transaction. Quite a few businessmen generate cash income which is taxable but they prefer to avoid paying income tax, so they would have broken the law. This should not be a priority. Given the increasing level of IT usage, KYC norms, requirements of PAN no etc, slowly but surely the net is widening to encompass such evaders. Increasing consumerism is pushing the cash out. Today people who have it want to flaunt it. 

The more serious and dangerous black money is generated by corruption. This is what can be termed as anti national and deserving of the quick and harsh punishment in say Singapore. We do want to be a tiger economy like Singapore, but without the hard rules. The Mumbai bomb blasts showed how a few corrupt officials allowed death to pass by them for a few rupees, assuming it was just another consignment of drugs or gold, not realising it was RDX.

We have corrupt politicians who have no qualms about selling the countries wealth just so that their nests are feathered. Watching them we have our bureaucrats who also guide and act as enablers to help the politicians. Today, they do not need businessmen, politicians have become businessmen, going by the number of crorepatis in Parliament. The few who oppose the politicians nefarious designs are shunted around a la Kiran Bedi.

We can surely not expect politicians to address this issue because that is like asking fish t o dry the pond. They will do anything for votes and another politician can be useful especially if he has corrupt baggage. The general defense is there is no proof, or if implicated the charges are assumed to be politically motivated. 

In Goa, the BJP rose to power and there are great expectations of change. Three years on that expectation is still waiting to be fulfilled. There were a number of scams, yet today not one has seen the light of day. To be fair, one officer in GIDC was terminated. What about the others, did he act alone? There is a clear cut case against the previous Chairman of GIDC, yet no case is registered. More like dangling the sword has more value than striking. The same situation exists in the mining cases, now the figure is down to 3000 crores, great can we see some action, surely it did not happen without political support. This refusal to act against the politicians is a national malaise. The Jayalatha case was significant because it has bucked the trend. If every prosecutor or investigating agency did their job as well as the people involved in the Jaylaltha case, we would see more convictions. Once we have more convictions we will see a reduction in corruption, if not it is a gamble with no down side.

A government employee facing a disproportionate assets case, explained his source of income as fees for performing religious services. Either he has to charge a huge amount per session or he has to be doing it full time. Both are not feasible, so obviously it is income from another source. Can the investigator not question those who are reported to have paid the fees and conclude if the source is genuine or not. However this is the trend, politicians show income from farms, fishing trawlers and hotels. Yet full time farmers commit suicide and trawler owners regularly ask for governmental assistance in the form of diesel subsidy and non politician hotels never have 100% occupancy.

This illegal money turned into legal money is then used to invest in other legitimate business. It is literally cocking a snoop at the anti money laundering act and laughing all the way to the bank.

PM, Modi is doing away with archaic laws, one he must look at seriously is the law that makes paying a bribe a crime. It should be repealed and only receiving a bribe should be a crime. Will he have the political will to do it? That would make a difference in the fight against black money not a debate.

3 years/300 days: hope or hopeless

Dear NaMo and MaPa
Congratulations on completing 3 years in the State of Goaand 300 days at the center.

PM Sir, distinctly recall your words to a group of industrialists on your first official visit to Goa. You said that in just a few days in office and your biggest achievement was the fact that you and your Government had instilled HOPE in the population.  I agreed with you fully. 

However 300 days later, I am hoping you will begin to walk the talk sooner. Given the mess left by the previous government you surely deserved to get some time to begin. 

You were impressive right from the word go. At your oath taking you came up with and ace. Then you launched “Swach Bharat” and “Make in India”. So simple but yet powerful enough to put India right up there if implemented right. Surely with your impressive track record and no nonsense approach it would appear we would be well and truly on the path to development. The only way to alleviate poverty and ensure equitable distribution.

However your inability or reluctance to curb fringe elements has put the brakes on. The dichotomy is easy to see. In the budget your government gave reliefs to encourage the leather industry. On the other hand affiliated State governments have taken or are taking decisions which are contrary and effect the leather industry adversely.

You are pushing for ease of doing business but the government in Maharashtra put 1000's out of business and the Goa in government refuses to act on its own promises of shifting casinos because it will effect investor sentiment. The thought process is missing before speaking or acting.

I am hopeful you will focus on development and not just make statements to contain fringe elements but act against them to give an example. They may be throwing small pebbles at the moment, but pebbles also cause ripples in calm waters. We need calm waters to focus on development. This is well within your

Mr. Parrikar, three years is a long time in power and surely your government realises that the time for blaming all your problems on the previous regime is over.

You were impressive as LOO, you too instilled hope in many and for some anything was better than the congress. Your main plank was ending corruption. Yet three years later your government seems to have found no wrong doing by any members of the previous regime. If at all there has been some noise about a possible scam and that too is sooner than later quietly buried. Does it mean nothing wrong was done or the exchequer was not looted. Does it mean you raised the bogey of corruption only as a poll plank. Surely you will agree that the exchequer was looted and that your government does not have the will to look for reason best known to you all

In the case of the loot at GIDC you have been shown the proof and you as the then CM and then GIDC Chairman promised to file the FIR. Till date nothing has happened? Not exactly, nothing. One official has been sacked. This means that there was something rotten in GIDC and only one person was held responsible. A few employees seeing the big guns loot also tried to make hay, but unless action is taken against the top, does anyone have the moral right to act against employees who dabbled erroneously in a single plot. It also seems to point to the fact that those who milked the system earlier are free today because the current government is protecting them for whatever reason. Even in the cases related to the PWD it is a congressman who is pushing for punishment. Where does this leave the much talked about ZERO TOLERANCE TO CORRUPTION slogan.  Is it just a slogan. Again, if you wish to be in sync with the centre on corruption, Mr. Modi when visiting Goa said, he cannot stop corruption, but he promised rules whereby one could insist on “free” delivery is rules were followed. Hence reduce discretion, make rules which everyone must follow.

One can argue that you have been promoted so you are not accountable for matters of the State anymore. Nothing can be further away from the truth. Many including yours truly voted and supported the BJP because of you. You may not wish to be sen as the defacto head, for all practical purposes you are. You still command and are directing actions in Goa, your weekly visits are to review the same. So, please look into the areas you had promised Goa and Goans and act so as to fulfill promises made. You surely did not make them on a personal level but on behalf of your party. Look at the mess in GIDC, the Regional plan is pending, the mining issue awaits attention, there too we have not seen any recovery of the 3500 crores you mentioned was looted. Atleast get back some, if your calculations were wrong, surely you were not totally wrong when you said, there has been wrong doing in this sector. If your Government can take a decision despite the poll code in progress, atleast when there is no code of conduct take decisions and set things right.

We are happy that you have been recognised at the national level and are going to do great things for Indians and the armed forces in particular. Please review your Governments three years with respect to your poll promises and plug the gaps.

All the best for the remainder of your respective terms. 

Biz@blaise: Make In India, who benefits

Recent a senior member of the village of Verna which is next to  the largest industrial estate in Goa, stated that the village gets no benefits as even the youth are not getting employment in the industrial estate. With “Make in India” fast becoming a mantra and every State government falling over themselves to attract investors, this issue needs to be looked at quickly; else resulting agitations will have their effect.

Being closely involved with Verna Industrial Estate and also having my origins in the Verna Village, there is an excuse to comment on the situation. I do not agree with my fellow villager. The village is benefiting from the existence of the industrial estate, what is debatable is the kind of benefit they are deriving. However it appears tgey have made a choice. Even turning a blind eye to the happenings is a choice.

Years ago, the Association office bearers were summoned by the Governor of Goa. Goa was then under Governors rule and a few concerned villagers had complained that the industry was affecting the demographic makeup and also having a negative influence on the villagers. The employees of the companies located in the estate were residing in the village and as such beginning to outnumber the local population. They also felt that since there were only men, they were getting involved with the local girls and cases of cheating were reported.

The situation from their point of view has worsened and the causes which at that time were raised as solutions were not and remain unaddressed.

Industry by nature needs manpower. They do not look at where a person resides or is from before giving the job, they look for ability and willingness to do the job. The employee on the other hand prefers a job closer to home. If his home is far away he moves closer to his place of work to avoid commuting. That is why in Goa a lot of ancestral homes are empty in the village as the owners prefer to stay in the city close to schools and workplace.

The employees today come from other States, they get jobs in the Industrial estate and they go to the nearby areas and look for accommodation. For the residents of the nearby areas in this case Verna Village it offets an easy source of income, renting. As demand increases, almost every household begins to first rent the spare rooms inside their house and then build rooms in the open space in the compound to increase the capacity. Some encroach on available  open space and build there.

None of these rooms have adequate sanitation, electricity or water provisions and usually all of them flout the panchayat rules and building laws. As is expected, the occupants work hard in the factory and come and pay the rent to the landlord who I assume is still local. The landlord, earns his money without moving a muscle. If he worked eight hours in a day in the factory he would earn less. Given this situation, can we say that the benefit of the industrial estate in not coming to the local.

The local then argues but these outsiders work for very cheap rates. Assume that this is true. Who is aiding this action, the local? How? They make the cost of the room cheap by adding more rooms, reducing the space and not providing facilities. Then since staying is cheap the employee can accept a lower salary. If the accommodation was not available nearby he would have to go farther away and they the job is not so lucrative as transport cost kicks in.

Assume, that all building bye laws were followed, and then the amount of rooms available would definitely be reduced. The cost would increase as the landlord would have to provide sanitation importantly, FSI would have to be maintained, taxes would have to be paid to the panchayat etc., naturally the employee would then demand a higher salary from his employer. This higher rate may be more acceptable to the local living in the area. If you see the type of outsiders living in Verna, they are mostly working class with no great skill sets, so that means either the locals do not want that job or have a better alternative, currently it is renting.

The other issue that gets raised is social interaction. Having invited the men to stay in your house or compound and then not expecting a social interaction between the men and local women is akin to what Hillary Clinton said to Pakistan leadership, you cannot keep a snake in the backyard and expect it to bite only the neighbours. They are many instances of the women folk eloping and later being robbed and abandoned in the State the male worker originated from. There could also be some happy endings too.

Open defecation causes another major concern. Again if the building bye laws are followed, a toilet within the premises would be a must. If a landlord keeps more tenants, correspondingly more toilets would be needed. Is the panchayat looking at these aspects, are the locals demanding this from the panchayat? Or is it easier to go hammer and tongs at the industrial estate and create and us versus them syndrome and gain brownie points. Why is no one asking what is done with the funds collected from the taxes paid by the industry to the panchayat. Does that money not help develop the village? Penalising people if they defecate in the open or dump garbage is closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. Why not enforce the requirement of toilets?

The situation needs to be addressed quickly across Goa, with the Government working hard to make Goa an aspirational investment destination.

The Reluctant Entrepreneur: Beating Attrition

The last few weeks have been particularly laden with resignations. Possibly the new found hope generated by the “make in India” policy of PM Modi has begun to generate opportunities and new jobs. My early decision not to allow either myself or the Company to be demoralised by a resignation has paid rich dividends. Instead we decided to accept resignations as part and parcel of a growing company and looked at ways to 'resignation proof' the company.

The key to having an attitude of acceptance is the fact that each of us has reached a position of responsibility in the Company where we accept resignations because we have ourselves resigned to take advantage of opportunities in the past. Basically leaving one job and taking up another is part of development of a career and harvesting rich experience. This is beneficially to the Company when it hires a new person with experience, obviously he has resigned from some other place.

The most obvious answer is pay a salary much higher than industry average. The reason this does not hold water is because the best paying companies also have resignations and two if your Company is paying higher than its capacity, you know where it is headed and you will have resignations faster than rats deserting a sinking ship. So paying more or less is not a solution. We have tried the concept of loyalty bonus. We pay a lumpsum at the end of three years if the employee is still working with us, that too is not a foolproof method.

Creating an environment with opportunities for growth and developing a sense of camaraderie through team work. This too will not stop people moving on but one good side effect is that it definitely creates a good environment for the people who are still working in the Company.

I regret having to change one policy that we started with. Initially our appointment letters did not require the employee to give notice when they wished to leave. The logic being, once an employee has decided to change, his commitment and involvement reduces, in such a situation it is better he leaves immediately. However, we now insist on notice period or pay in lieu of same to allow for transition and to ensure our customers are not inconvenienced.

Fast changing technology whose acquisition cost is reducing everyday gives us the best opportunity to beat attrition. Yes if you can afford it, robots would be a high end solution, operations like welding painting are done by robots, for smaller companies this may not be feasible.

What is feasible is using menu driven systems which allow anyone to operate with minimum training. We used to record orders and make invoices manually. When a new person joined it took a while for them to understand the products, variations, customers and most difficult was making an excise invoice correctly, added to that was the complication of sales tax. Often, we used have issues at the border because the tax authorities would stop the vehicle as the CST no was not incorporated in the invoice. Today the story is different, it is menu driven, with drop downs for selection, certain information has to be filled and calculations and printing automated and therefore error free.

So while we cannot stop anyone from leaving we have made the process a little less painful for us and our customers by adopting technology and putting systems in place. These IT driven systems ensure easy training and consistent process. Now the focus is not on retention but on pushing to finds ways to reduce dependency on human intervention and ultimately reducing the issues involved with attrition. Merry Christmas and happy hiring in 2015.

The Reluctant Entrepreneur: Business cycles

Any one watching the price of a barrel of oil dropping will be amazed not just at the speed at which the price is falling but at the fact that just a few months ago, it looked like oil prices could only go up. The very fact that there is not a single story off any entrepreneur hay or any analyst predicting this amazing fall, shows once again the glorious uncertainties of being in business. Business it seems is a lot like cricket, you have to keep your eye on the ball all the time.

Rising oil prices put nearly all business in a spin, transport costs spiraled. This meant imports, exports local buying or selling would take a hit in terms of transport, this automatically pushed prices upwards, and sales took a hit with dampened demand. Nobusiness that would have been laughing all the way to the bank except petrochemical companies. It looked like they were on a roll that was never going to stop. However, today the situation is simply the opposite, oh yes transport costs are yet to come down and no finger pointing to Goa's tourist taxi's, no one is reducing their transport cost, in effect now the shoe in on the other foot.

This brings me to the point that I want to make, every business undergoes these cycles and every entrepreneur has to make a judgment call. More so when the tide is turning against the business. What kind of call. Take and example of a manufacturer of black and white TV's, if he looks at his falling sales graph and believes it is the effect a slow economy he is only fooling himself. This may be very straight forward, but consider the example of a bulb, is the falling sales graph a result of a slow economy or is it the effect of substitutes like CFL or LED lights?

Alternative energy sources would have seen a lot of activity in terms of R&D, setting up of manufacturing facilities for say solar panels and also sales of these products would have zoomed as the cost benefit or payback given high oil prices would be pretty good. Now, that oil prices have cooled customers will relax and defer decisions to buy or replace conventional energy sources. Should entrepreneurs here sell out, shut shop. No, but they will have to be innovative and ride this slump because we do not know when but we know it will happen, oil prices will rise again.

We started selling SHAKTI water tanks way back in June 1996, we had just missed the boom in the real estate sector, added to that was the fact that for the next 4/5 months we would be in the traditional lean season, better know in India as the monsoon. It was only later after spending many a day sad or despondent that we had missed the high season that we realised that it was a good thing.

Missing a high season and good? Well imagine our launch coinciding with the start of the high season (Sept to May) . Within 2/3 months we would have had orders pouring in and the teething trouble that all entrepreneurs have to go thru would have kicked in. Once that happens, and a Company fails to deliver right at the start it is a recipe for disaster. By starting at the fag end we were able to ramp up our production, take control of teething issues and deliver consistently what was ordered. We were battle ready when the next high season came along.

Every business cycle comes with its pro and cons, like a surfer, the important thing is to figure out how to ride it safety to the shore and then head out again to catch the next wave.

The Reluctant Entrepreneur : Risk Management

Recently, I lost a young friend and colleague. He was in your face, larger than life and always positive. There was nothing too wide, high or difficult, everything was made possible. He had a never say die spirit. Yet, he is not amongst us, he moved on to a better place. In an instant. I cannot get the incident out of my head so as I write this I am thinking about him. It is my tribute to him.

No one should be surprised because there are only two things certain in life, Death and Taxes. Taxes we usually have under control one way or another. On taxes we may cheat and possibly get away but not adviseable. Death, why bother we never think about it. It is something that does not happen to me. Right, wrong...it can happen to anyone and anytime. The funny thing is we never plan for it, not consciously and I am being dead serious here.

Years ago, when were being audited for the Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Award, we scored pretty well on many parameters, operations, human relations, financial management etc but we fared quite miserably on leadership. My ego was stung for sure. When the audit team met me, they knew what my question main interest would be but skirted the issue. Finally, unable to contain myself I asked why my leadership scored low and how was it possible then for other parameters to be scoring high.

They explained very nicely that while my management skills were good, they did not see any successor, they did not see anyone being able to run the Company after me. They had asked the question “after Blaise who? The answer they saw was no one. If for any reason I could not make it to work, the Company would totter.

This came as a shock to me, I had never considered anything would happen to me. We did get a commendation award. Corrective action followed. A meeting was organised with the team. They agreed that the Company was important to them too, at that moment. They were working to satisfy their needs and not just to ensure my livelihood. So we decided to make the Company “Boss Proof”. The Company must run even if the Boss is taken out of the system. Today, many years later, we are closer to our goal, closer because the target is always moving.

The key aspect was we introduced systems and ensured decision making was more system or rule based rather than on “bosses” mood. Delegation was another area that was worked on. The problem with delegation is employee turnover. The person you delegate to decides to move on and out. You cannot control turnover but the problem is better addressed with use of systems. With systems in place the new person knows where he fits and can thus get involved faster, proverbial HIT THE GROUND RUNNING. Periodically, the setup needs to be tested, easy the Boss goes on a month long vacation. After returning, the fining tuning has to be done after review and grey areas resolved. This is a continuous process.

It had its benefits, one of our MNC customers was doing an audit and they ask questions related to continuity under different situations. They do not want any situation to occur where they will be left high and dry because the supplier has to stop or close down because the top management was indisposed. They are especially cautious in cases of family owned businesses.

I am not sure if my friend had done such an exercise but it is highly recommend that every business, especially vulnerable SME's undertake a risk audit and put corrective actions in place to reduce or mitigate the risk involved. My friend inspired this article, may his soul rest in peace.  

The reluctant entrepreneur: Legacy Building

Congratulations Business Goa on your sixth anniversary. It is another milestone on your way to creating a legacy. This is an ongoing process, we live and learn. Keeping it going month after month year after year is an achievement by itself, we wish you luck and blessings as you go into a new year. We at GMI Zarhak just completed 20 years and as usual it is a time to look back, refocus and rededicate ourselves to the task at hand, creating a legacy.

The most obvious lesson that comes to mind is actually better explained by the glorious game of uncertainties, cricket. Most great batsmen say that the secret of their success is the fact that they play every ball as if it is their first ball of the innings. They actually practice what the financial ads publish as a disclaimer, the fact that you hit a four of the previous ball is no guarantee that the next one will be a four. So also for any Company. Just because the firm had a good year is no guarantee that the next year will be great. It will be only if a review was done and attention was paid to those areas where problems faced and corrective action taken.

A classic example is brought out by the saying “When Good Sales Hide Poor Performance”. There are often times when sales rise without any effort on the part of the company or despite rude or poor service. This could be due to non availability of competitors products, withdrawing of a competing model etc. This situation could lull the company into a false sense of security and once the competition gets its act together, the customers will switch and it will be too late.

When we entered the market 20 years ago we pushed a new delivery model. We offered dealers an opportunity not to stock. They could call the factory, order the material required, with no minimum and we would deliver directly to their customers. This meant they did not have to carry inventory and that they could use the godown space for other material. This model we developed based on the finding that every manufacturer had a minimum lifting quantity to deliver free to the dealer. If the dealer ordered less than the minimum he had to pay for the delivery. This offered us a gap, an opening, we grabbed it with both hands and this was born our delivery model, JIT no minimum. As orders increased we had to make additions, changes to our process after review to ensure our 24 hr delivery commitment.

Employee engagement or team building is another area that one has to constantly review. Anyone starting will have a very hands on approach. This will mean that the Boss will be in close touch with the employees on a daily basis. As the business grows and spreads, the day to day activities are taken over by others and that contact is lost or weakens. In addition there is attrition and additions as an on going process, that personnel touch/ contact can get lost. For us at GMI, it is the monthly Kaizen meeting where interaction with every employee happens. Team building is an ongoing and continuous process.

Talking of engagement, over these last twenty years one way of giving back to society, a much talked about concept is “INTERNSHIP”. We keep cribbing about the fact that those who pass out are nowhere near the required standard. Yet what do we do about it, easy way out is blame the education system. If we have stated the problem, can we become part of the solution. That solution is to hire INTERNS. Interns are students who come and work in our organisations and when working get a feel of the real world and how it connects to the theory they are learning. This process effectively contributes to making the student a better product once he/she actually finishes school and therefore the hiring organisation has added value to society, given back in a way.

But only charity will not motivate us to hire interns, the question is how will the organisation benefit. It will benefit. Everyday our people focus on day to day activities, there is really no time to stand back and study data generated various activities. Eg while we know what is the rejection level do we hav time to study the rejections and attack the one cause that is generating the most defects, Pareto's analysis or do we have time to do a fish bone analysis to find the root cause. Interns are the answer, they are not concerned by day to day work, they can study the data, make observations on the ground and give the concerned department heads better information to take corrective action, win-win for both.

Old customers do not die they fade away. Just as employee turnover happens in your company, it is also happening in your customers Company. The new purchase manager may not be aware of your relationship as a supplier and having his own connections from a previous experience, he will shift his business elsewhere. It helps if a review is done and old customers are reminded of your presence regularly just in case they have forgotten or the new hire does not know about your product.

There is something we have not done but it is surely on our wishlist. I recently attended the 10^th anniversary bash of Sethu. It was not just a bash, it was a birthday bash with a purpose. It was a great way to connect with the stake holders, and get feedback. Often we get feedback through a survey, in this case the feedback was in the attendance, they are doing a great job and they are doing it right. Maybe at 25 we will have a bash and that will be a fun way of doing a serious job.

Last but not the least is keep scanning the horizon. Is there anything out there which will put you out of business, colour TV's blew B& W's out of the water, as did Maruti to Premier Padmini. The owner of an aluminum tube mfg, believed that lami (plastic) tubes would never replace aluminum tubes. He felt that due to the fear of fakes, cosmetic companies would not switch because lami tubes could be reused. Today, it will be hard to find an aluminum tube being used to package toothpaste. These threats do not have to be another competitor, but it could be another process, another material.....

You could add your own areas to review on your anniversary, but do review so that you will be around at the next anniversary. Happy legacy creating.

The Reluctant Entrepreneur: Intellectual Property

IP is can be also applied to Intellectual property or IP as it is commonly called. Just two words but in today’s business they play a significant role. Recently at a program done by Stanford in Goa, 50 innovators were being taken thru the finer nuances of business in a crash course, and I was pleasantly surprised to see an entire session devoted to this important subject. A big change from when I attended business school.

Twenty year back when we started doing business, we had made an application to register our trademark SHAKTI. It was more by chance than design. One could say it was a positive aspect of the otherwise wasteful activity “waiting for permissions”. While waiting at some Government office, I met a gentleman who today can be called an angel in disguise. He mentioned I should look at registering my mark and even provided me with a reference. We did begin the cumbersome process and finally SHAKTI was registered. However, looking back we overlooked registering our tag lines, SUPERIOR BY DESIGN and PROUDLY MADE IN GOA.

A few years back we heard that one of our suppliers was refusing to accept delivery of a 5000lt tank. The driver called me and told me that despite our company buying our requirements from this customer he is refusing to take delivery. After discussion we realized why. He was delivered a imitation SHAKTI tank which split into two after it was filled. Now, seeing another SHAKTI tank he did not want it. Further investigation revealed that the dealer had supplied a JAL SHAKTI tank where the JAL had conveniently got wiped out. After clarification and confirmation from dealer the customer accepted the real SHAKTI.

This we found out was not an isolated case. Either some unscrupulous dealers simply wiped out the JAL or they informed customers this was a cheaper cousin. This is not limited to water tanks, fakes with deceptively similar logos are the bane of legitimate industry.

We decided to enforce out rights protected by the trade mark registration. This is easier said than done. We sent letters to the concerned Company who was infringing on our IP. They simply ignored the notices. To send more notices, one has to pay the IP lawyers for every notice and of course their time.

How come then we read of music companies being able to enforce IP of artists by raiding restaurants playing copyrighted songs without paying user fees. Microsoft officials regularly visit companies and get them to pay for legal copies if they are found using pirated software. These raids are conducted with the official help of the administration. How can a SME get similar assistance and protection? What does one need to do? What can be done if the notices are not issued? So many questions but very few answers.

We are pursuing the matter and hopefully we will have good news for you soon, till then do not get disheartened and take the road most traveled, it is no use, let us not register our brand name or other IP. Yes IP is not related to trade names, tag lines, it can be trade secret, a patent etc. Go back to the opening line and act on the second best time, now. Start protecting your IP by getting it registered.

The Government is apprised of this problem and on the anvil is the new National IP policy which is expected to to oversea implementation and regulations in India. It is also time business schools added this subject into their curriculum and industry organisations wake up and spearhead the drive to protect legitimate business, just like is done in the music industry.

Ease of Business: Legit or not?

There is a story I never tire in telling. The Sales Tax Commissioner made a statement at a meeting, when Goa was transiting from an sales tax exemption regime to VAT. He wondered when Goa's industrialists would begin thinking about the nation and not just their own benefits. This was in relation to the fact that with exemptions of sales tax being removed, prices of all locally manufactured goods would increase by the VAT amount of 12.5%. Naturally, there was a resistance.

My immediate question to him was, VAT will come to Goa, so businessmen are only asking the Government to think about the promise made. However, when would the Sales Tax department officials begin thinking of India. This is because the only people who do not know that goods are available without bill all over Goa. With the removal of the exemption the level playing field was gone. Earlier, imports did not pay tax and local units were exempt. Now, local units would have to pay VAT, and imports would continue without paying. Pretty unfair.

Another Commissioner when discussing this subject had this explanation. His dealer in Mapusa pays a huge amount of sales tax every month, should he penalise or haul him up for selling a part of his goods without bill.? I wonder who should be answering this question or solving his problem. There is no such thing as partial compliance, we have to comply every transaction. So we have a cozy 50:50 with bill regime, with the blessings of the department.

Trucks enter Goa and can get away, especially on weekends without making any entry at the border. Once inside, the invoice copies used are destroyed and the material becomes without bill. Contrast this to when material leaves Goa. If the CST no of the customer is not mentioned, the consignment gets held up at the Karnataka or Maharashtra border. Karnataka has gone digital as have a few other states. Before material leaves the factory, an acknowledgment has to be taken electronically called 'E sugam”, without this document the consignment cannot cross into Karnataka. Once issued the party is liable to account for the invoice and ofcourse pay the tax.

Why would anyone make an issue of paying taxes. It is not just paying the tax, in addition a manufacturer would have to file his returns, after which there is an assessment of the returns which is time consuming. During assessment the officer can interpret the rules and allow or disallow what is claimed and increase the tax liability. Appealing could turn out more expensive than the amount saved so usually it is paid and matter closed.

Notice the hassles in actually collection and paying taxes. One would imagine that the Government which which benefits from the tax collected would make every attempt to encourage and make it easy for collection and paying the tax. In reality it is the opposite. This is reflected in the market place where a lot of goods are available without paying the tax. One dealer explaining why he shifted to “without bill” model, when he collected tax he had to not only take trouble to pay it he also had to file returns attend assessments etc, etc. Now, they do business in cash and have no such hassles of collecting, paying or filing returns. Which is better.?

One day there was a call from a sales tax official, he was reminding us that we had to pay VAT collect in the previous month the next day. This is understandable, with mining shut Government has to collect for all other sources and collect quickly. He was a bit offended when asked to go out into the market and collect form those not paying because most companies pay VAT collected into Government treasury in time. Most of the departments manpower is wasted on internal paper work. They have no time to go out and enforce compliance.

The problem defined above is well known, can there be any solutions. One department which is doing extremely well and can be used as an example is the Central Excise. The payment/returns are online, they have rationalised duty rates and there are not many slabs, so very little scope to misinterpret a product classification and choose lower duty, which usually resulted in litigation. The famous case of Old Spice, was it a cosmetic or a medicine. All forms are online. So the sales tax department can emulate this. This should not be difficult because they have started issuing C forms online and that is very good.

Recently it is reported that the Government of India is planning to give tax breaks to encourage credit card usage, basically reduce cash transactions. Similarly, the sales tax department can give incentives. If a dealer collect more tax than the previous year he would get an incentive, it could be monetary viz, 1% of additional tax collected. Or it could be non monetary. If tax collected exceeds 30% of previous year, his returns will be accepted as final. Oh what a relief that would be. So much of time saved. Under PM Modi's ease of business program, can the sales tax department make a change?

The Church and me

The recent controversy created by the meeting of Catholic MLA's with the Church representatives got me thinking. The Church in Goa is powerful. Is it not time they used that power responsibly? A few years ago the Archbishop at his annual Christmas meeting with all MLA's was blunt enough to call a spade a spade and asked the MLA's to be true to their calling. That to my mind was responsible.

However it was never followed up. Instead, rather than take up these matters through the proper channels, a totally irresponsible meeting was called for. What would we have said if a similar exercise was done and only non catholic MLA's were called to a meeting to push some proposal. Would we not have shouted “it is an attempt to finish Catholics” ?

Where was the Diocesan Education society (DES) all these months, why was nothing brought up first in writing with the education department and subsequently discussed in a public forum. The problem with working behind the scene is that the decision can go either way, in this case we see finally the decision was not in DSE's favour so they went public. Again. if the meeting was called for by the Archbishop's secretary, should not the Archbishop have been present or was his office used? Would the MLA's have responded if it was the DSE office that called the meeting? The cause is good but the method used to address the injustice is not. The aversion to competition is not just with the taxi trade, it is also a malaise that runs deep in the education sector since many of the institutions are run by the politicians themselves. They make the rules and divert funds and grants to their institutions. The only way is to approach the courts and get these “favourable to some” orders struck down. Do not expect so called catholic MLA's to assist because, they belong to the same team. A cozy club of “you scratch my back I scratch yours”.

If the DSE wants efficiency, are they efficient? Has any feedback from stake holders been taken on their functioning, is it up to the mark. The Catholic Bishop's Conference of India (CBCI) has infact come out with a Catholic Education policy, till date there is no sign of its implementation. This policy was to improve the quality of education imparted in DSE run schools. Just pushing for numbers without quality is one issue, not being able to follow directives of the policy making body is another. Possibly a more effective and efficient leadership would not have called for such a meeting.

Normally such a situation should have seen heads roll, but we have got used to burying our heads in the sand, ostrich like and believing everything is OK, a la Sushma affair. I hope there is some learning in hindsight, where the church leadership will accept there error in judgment and take corrective steps.

Moving on, the church had issued an advisory to its flock to support “secular” candidates during the last general election. The fact that in the Assembly election held three years ago, the Church advisory was to vote for “non corrupt” candidates. It was heartening to note that the Church is not only getting involved but also asking the faithful to get involved in public life. Now, because of these two advisories, even though they were elections apart, the faithful were in a dilemma?

The Congress who faced a rout in the assembly elections because there was no doubt about its corrupt credentials, began jumping with joy. They have read the advisory to mean corruption is OK, communalism is a bigger danger. One would have imagined that the powers that be in the Congress party would come out strongly and said, “we respect the people's opposition to corruption, we will fight against it”. Instead they wanted us to believe that they are going to save us from so called fascist’s and therefore the people of Goa / India should allow them a free hand to be corrupt. Dr. Manmohan Singh was himself not known to be corrupt but he turned a blind eye when his colleagues dipped their hand in the till. Despite the advisory the so called secular candidates were routed. This shows that people are thinking and followed the advisory of the Church, they voted for a secular candidates who they felt would not only share their opposition to corruption but would ensure that India is free from fascists everyday and not just election time. Ofcourse, the reality as it unfolds today is different, three years down the line and our new assembly has not been able to find and nail even one corrupt act.

So is it not time the Church sees the writing on the wall and starts living the principles of the religion. Come out strongly against corruption and corrupt, and not hob knob with them. Issue a directive to churches to not allow donations to be made public. This is where ill gotten gain is used to fund church activities and also give legitimacy to the donor. If we have faith then the Church should not prop corrupt individuals in the hope that they will be saviours if the fathom fascists attack. We must now walk the talk. We must be an example to others. We have not in the past, let us start now.

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Counselors are needed

Previously Published in THE GOAN EVERYDAY

Am not sure if the powers that be in the Church hierarchy read my last column "The Church and me", but the fact that the Secretary of the Diocesan Society Education (DSE) when speaking about the lack of counselors to the media on behalf of the Archdiocese Board of Education (ABE) highlighted an issue in public and now it can be debated and solutions worked out.

The DSE Secretary said there was a need for 220 counselors, the Government has provided a few but he is not interested in them because they were appointed by the Government and hence he has no control over them. The other statement he makes is, it costs Rs 22000 per counselor per month and so he wishes the Government allow the DSE to appoint but the payment must be made by the Government. He also admits that counselors are required for better guidance to kids.

As Chairman of the Education Committee of the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), I was privileged to address the managers of DSE schools a few years back. The message was simple. The basics of elementary educational concepts have remained the same. What has changed is the fact that imparting education has now become more professional. So it is imperative that teacher training be an important aspect of the DSE's role as they manage a huge number of schools in Goa. The other aspect was that if a Parish priest was being transferred to a Parish with a school attached and hence defacto manager or principal he should be a suitably trained.

The then and now Secretary, Fr. Zeferine pooh poohed the suggestion. He believed that since priests study theology and philosophy they do not need further training. The Archbishop who was present tried to explain the statement as meaning, it becomes easy to understand. I did not agree then and still do not. The statement made then and the press statement on counselors proves the point that it is either ignorance or incompetence, both undesirable when heading such an important organisation.

Had he been a student of management, he would have clearly recognised what is today know as “dotted line” reporting. Most large organisations, use this concept today. The employee would be assigned to a factory in Bangalore and looks after the quality function. Operationally, the factory head is his Boss, from whom he takes day to day instructions. But his dotted line reporting will connect him to the Quality Director, who may be sitting in Japan, heading the Quality function for the group. There is no issue or ambiguity here. In case the employee has a problem, his Local Head will speak to the quality head in Japan, sort out and the employee will be given a clarification.

In the case of the counselors the dotted line reporting would be to someone sitting in the education department. This would be for matters relating to salary, leave, promotion transfer, service conditions etc. The Principal of the institute where the counselor is assigned would give operational instructions, attendance, where to sit, which students to attend to etc. In case of doubt, the management of the school and education department sit across and trash out the issues as there are bound to be some as with any new initiative.

Today, kids need such interventions, they need trained people to be around as parents are either abroad or out working or just not able to see the signs of issues the child may be facing. Early intervention can and will possibly nip the problem in the bud. The DSE has realised that having counselors would be a good idea should they lob the ball into the Government's court and raise their hands. The Government of today is financially constrained. That did not stop the CM from gifting himself a new SUV, on his birthday. Knowing a bankrupt Government cannot hire the counselors, should the DSE not take steps to do something about the situation, so that the kids our benefited?

The Archdiocese has built a huge retreat center, in Old Goa. It will surely benefit the faithful. Was funds or lack of them a criteria? The Archdiocese issued a dikat to every parish based on size, a target was given, the money collected and the retreat center is a reality. Knowing the importance, the DSE could have raised money and hired a few counselors as you will not get 220 in a day. We are not yet getting into how the number 220 has been arrived at, if it is one per school, it is too simplistic. Based on the experience with these few more can be hired subsequently, if available. The few can be moved around the schools attending to more needy cases. The laity can crowd fund the counselor project.

First there has to be a will, then the way can be found. The DSE needs to focus on real issues and delivery of better quality to students. Papa Francis has said that the Church needs to reconsider it long standing leaders, the recent events at the DSE shows that change is needed and quickly. Is the hierarchy willing to hear the call of Papa Francis?

The Paper Route to Zero Tolerance

The Louis Berger case has raised our excitement in the past few days. Everyday we are waiting for some action. With the “free hand” there does not seem to be much disappointment.

Had it not been for Louis Berger's self declaration that their employees breached the provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), this issue would never have seen the light of day in Goa. What is important is that there was a change in ownership at Louis Berger. The new owners did a due diligence and these bribe payments came up. Not wanting to be party to a past breach of the FCPA, the Company declared it before the Justice Department. Almost immediately the verdict was out, a massive penalty and the employees involved will go to jail. Had the Company not declared this information voluntarily and subsequently a whistle blower leaked the information the fine would have been many times more than, 17 million USD and surely the CEO would have gone to jail. Zero tolerance in action.

The reaction here, “someone makes a statement in America” why should we bother. It is not just a statement, it cost 17 million USD to make that statement and it has been verified to be true because there were supporting documents and emails. The people who made the statement are going to go to jail. So should it not be taken seriously? At present we may not have proof as to who the money went to and how many hands shared the spoils. What we know is that a million USD was paid and we must try and find out who took it.

We will all get some kicks of seeing some stalwarts behind bars for a few days or questioned at ungodly hours, the basic fact remains, no one will be punished, despite the circumstantial evidence, despite all roads leading to a particular conclusion. No one will get convicted because you cannot prove money changed hands. Imagine, tomorrow any politician can be trapped by getting five people to say they were present when the money was paid. It will never be that simple.

So does it mean we will never or can never rid our Country of the scourge of corruption? No we must always have hope else we might as well give up the fight. To my mind that hope lies in technology. In the old days, we heard of film stars being raided and cash stuffed mattress or behind a false wall being found. Those were the days when not much could be brought with the cash, except Jonnie Walker and dinner in a five star hotel.

Today, life is different. The ill gotten cash or most of it is pumped into flashy cars, land or investments and for that bank accounts are needed. There are specialists, they come collect the cash and it can be a truckload these days, and then convert it thru various transactions and finally it ends up in an account which is controlled by the corrupt owner. Recall, Lalit Modi brought Rs 10/- shares of young Raje's company for Rs 10000/- via an off shore account. This is money returning after a round trip. These owners communicate and this communication is traceable.

The KYC norms make it difficult to create benami accounts, but easy to use accounts of drivers, butlers and confidants. A bank official once mentioned a story of finding a coconut plucker who did not know he had a dormant account with two crores in it. Apparently he had fallen out with a politician who using his details made the account of which he had no knowledge. So the key is not to focus on cash but on bank transactions, high value transactions.

This case gives us a good idea of what is possible. Wachasunda, was surprised by the raid. Given the high profile names connected he must have expected some shield rather than “free hand”. The discovery of cash foreign currency and land documents are a testimony to the fact that Louis Berger was not his only sin. He may try to use his son's so called small time contracting company to cover his misdeeds, but he will fail. The small time firm cannot have a profit margin so big that it needs the depreciation provided by a jaguar car to reduce his tax liability. Especially when one has to be lowest bidder to get a contract. You can always say you are not corrupt, but you cannot hide. The case against Jayalaitha is not about receiving a bribe, it is about disproportionate assets.

So, now the police must get forensic accountants to back track the transactions and find out who and how the money came in. No doubt this will lead to other bank accounts and transactions. Eg: the Jaguar, road tax has to be paid in cash, was it withdrawn from an account, not likely. What about the passport, it will show all the foreign trips, who paid for them. Get the drift, they have left a paper trail. Wachasunda has got caught, now study the accounts of Kamat and Churchill, if the are innocent it will show. After all Al Capone, got caught for tax evasion not murder.