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Happy Birthday: St Britto's, which is 60 years old. Celebrations at St
Jerome's Church Mapusa 11 am on July 30, 2006. Football match Loyola's
vs. Britto's 11 am on July 31, 2006 at the school grounds.
http://bmxgoa.com
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Since Elisabeth changed the Subject Line to
"Why SEZ could work for Goa ... - pour mon ami Cecil"
I feel I will it change it to more clearly reflect the matter being discussed.
I hope the GoaNet Admin team will grant me that liberty.
-------------
Elisabeth Carvalho (EC) wrote:
Dear dear Cecil,
Down boy, down!! Et tu eh?
Cecil Pinto (CP) replies
Elisabeth my dear,
Sometime back you had referred to being bitten (or was it eaten?) by a
high-caste dog.
I hope that your salutation above is not in a similar vein.
I'm a non-vegetarian but the Big Bad Wolf I'm not. Red Riding Hood will
have to look elsewhere.
---------
EC:
You were a lot more interesting regaling us with the
etymology of "pissing in the wind" and other such
illuminating tidbits. Your outburst is more
reminiscent of a post-adolescent emotional tantrum,
rather than a substantive debate on the economic
fortunes of Goa.
CP:
I agree that I don't know as many multi-syllable words as you, nor can I
flaunt Malthusian economics, totally out of context, with the panache that
you do, but I do believe I have a duty to educate you about more than just
the etymology of omni-directional flatulence. Your view that I have to
restrict myself to humour writing is, unfortunately, not shared by many. In
fact your views on what has to be done in Goa, on the economic front, are
not shared by many either.
---------
EC:
Apart from arrogant demands for
"facts and statistics" while simultaneously providing
none of your own, you do little to add to my knowledge
of SEZs in Goa.
CP:
I would assume that since it is you who are suggesting grandiose 'shopping'
schemes the onus is on your to back it up with relevant statistics and
prove that it is not just armchair wishful thinking.
---------
EC:
For the sake of argument let me humour
the humourist. Some of your points are not worth a
response but I'll respond to a few that are worthy.
CP:
I notice you have carefully chosen to ignore the parts where your ignorance
was clearly revealed.
--------
EC:
What do Goans in Goa want? Has there ever been a
coherent plan as to what direction Goa intends to
take. MetaStrips yesterday, film festival today and IT
park tomorrow. Infrastructure develops when
development is aligned. Ancillary services mushroom to
support the main industry, provided we know what the
main industry is.
CP:
I couldn't agree more. We need proper research, planning and
implementation. This can't be done by sitting at a keyboard a million miles
away. Either come down and walk the talk or leave it to qualified people here.
--------------
EC:
Are you saying Goans sitting anywhere other than in
Goa have no say in Goa?
CP:
No I am not. Please don't put words into my mouth.
I said nothing of that sort.
--------
EC:
If so, then tell the
government to stop giving NRIs voting rights, stop
wooing the NRI for investment, stop NRI conferences,
stop forums that engage in debate with the diaspora,
stop everything foreign in Goa including investment,
technology and aid. Your insularity is not becoming of
someone as intelligent as you, nor is it doing Goa a
service.
CP:
Thank you for acknowledging my intelligence.
I got the feeling you were just 'humouring a humourist'.
I am all for NRGs (Non Resident Goans) being part of the planning process.
I am just pointing out that there are NRGs and there are NRGs. There are
those who merely give grand advice from a million miles away and there are
those who walk the talk.
Lets just examine two of the many types of NRGs.
Take the average Gulfee for instance. He works hard and send all his money
back home. His family, his home, his heart are all in Goa. He remains a
citizen of India and just happens to be working in the Gulf for reasons of
personal economy. He actively promotes Konkani culture and Goan causes
abroad as well as back home. His remittances boost the economy here and
lots of locals are dependent on it. This is the type of NRG who definitely
has a stake in Goa and should be taken on board when planning the future of
Goa. They are just temporarily non-resident.
You have another type of NRG who is settled somewhere in the West with his
children. He will never return to Goa except for an occasional holiday. His
children speak no Konkani and their interest in Goa is minimal. Just as a
conversation piece when asked about their origin - to show they are
different from 'Indians'. He is actively pursuing citizenship of his
adopted country if not already a full-fledged citizen. His contribution to
Goa's economy at most might consist of occasional handouts to a needy
relative back home and a rare donation to some Goan cause. Not only doesn't
he walk the talk he doesn't put his money where his mouth is. He might put
in money into a Goan business if it gives him better returns than some
other business and not because of any love for the land. Most often he has
sold his ancestral house here. The extent of his Goan-ness is to indulge in
trivial debate on GoaNet or similar places in Goan Cyberspace. This sort of
NRG should definitely not be given voting rights nor allowed to have any
say in where Goa is headed. He has no stake here, nor his children. Why
should he be included?
And between these two extremes there are a whole lot of other NRGs, and I
have encountered them all. The wonderful NRG who technically on paper
remains an NRI but makes his home and life here. And gets involved in local
activities. Great people these! And the other type who may not even speak
decent Konkani but will gather funds abroad to help a handicapped child
here in Goa. Or a group of concerned NRGs who institute a fund for
scholarships for Goan children. Or....
There are grey areas. I am not condemning all NRGs. Definitively not. All I
am saying is that only those NRGs with a stake in Goa should be part of the
planning process. Not just those who speak the most eloquently in Goan
Cyber Space. Walk the talk. Dig deep into your pockets,. And then come on
board. Or else hold your tongue and let only those that are effected speak.
------
EC:
Ofcourse you're competing with not just the other
States, but the giants of shopping in SE Asia such as
Bangkok, Sri Lanka, Singapore and DUbai (Gulf -before
you pedantically point that out). But competition is
the name of the game. Are you not in competition with
the rest of India and China, when politicians propose
to set up IT parks? At least with industry synergistic
with tourism you have some available know-how and
infrastructure. Where do you start with an IT park?
Other states are far ahead of the game in terms of
infrastructure as well as technical know-how.
CP:
I suppose you know what you are talking about since you can use a word like
'synergistic' without even pausing for breath. I like people who have away
with words. The gift of the tongue is indeed precious.
You are falsely presuming that this is a IT Park v/s SEZ argument. It is
not. There are lots of projects being planned and implemented
simultaneously. All synergistic with each other. No one of them will solve
all our problems. Together they might.
-----------
EC:
So easy being pedantic isn't it? Did you expect me to
put in little inserts saying Kashmiri crewel - not
traditionally Goan. I expect the reader to have a
modicum of intelligence and make the connection.
CP:
I apologise for my pedantic nature. Since you mentioned just four Goan
'handicrafts', out of which two ('Kashmiri crewel' and 'batik') were
definitely not 'Goan traditional', I presumed your knowledge was lacking.
Could you please educate us on all these traditional Goan handicrafts that
we should export so we can then stop the silly ferry cruises on the Mandovi
river because we will be flooded with money from handicrafts? In fact name
just ten export-worthy cash-attracting Goan handicrafts. Except for the
ubiquitous 'soap on a rope' (which hardly qualifies as traditional
handicraft) I doubt there is any exportable Goan handicraft worth its name
that can get in more revenue than just one single boat cruising the Mandovi
river does in one week.
-----------
EC:
The point is not how much people spend on hotel and
accommodation during a weekend trip to Goa, the point
is how much more they can pump into the economy.
Shopping is the big ticket item when it comes to
tourism. Not the piddly sum they'll pay a charter
flight to take them there, and a tour-operator
bargained hotel rate they'll end up paying the hotel.
The money spinners are shopping, food & beverage,
transportation, entertainment. If you fly to Las
Vegas, accommodation is usually free. Why? because
they don't care for your room rate, they want you in
their casinos spending the big bucks.
CP:
Now finally you are speaking sense. I agree with what you say that just
accommodation and food can hardly bring in the big bucks that shopping,
gambling, prostitution, drugs etc does. All I am saying is that there are
many avenues to be investigated and not just one. You give the impression
that only the SEZ will work and nothing else is worth considering
simultaneously.
---------
EC:
And the usual tactic. Start a fire to get someone to
take notice of the house.
CP:
Strange that coming form you. From the July archives of GoaNet I see that
there are 70+ postings from you whereas there are less than 10 from me and
except for the last one none of my other postings were of a 'response'
nature but rather just flat out postings of something I wrote or read. You
on the other hand seem to be much more active on GoaNet and using
fire-starting tactics to get attention.
---------
EC:
Cecil darling, why don't you
learn to spell "multiplier effect" before you
denigrate someone with a solid grounding in economics
and six years experience in the Dubai Tourism
industry.
CP:
Elisabeth my dear, Your 'marginal propensity' to flaunt your qualifications
and experience is amply balanced by your myopic single focus vision. It
becomes obvious, and you deliberately point out the fact, that your major
experience in life has been the Dubai success and so you cannot contemplate
any other model. What worked for Dubai may not necessarily be apt for Goa.
While you're checking out your facts also read what my namesake, economist
Arthur Cecil Pigou (a self confessed follower of Say's Law) wrote in his
1932 letter that was signed by five other economists (including your
beloved John Maynard Keynes) regarding the call for more public spending
to alleviate high levels of unemployment. Prosperity should be increased by
stimulating production, not consumption.
-----------
EC:
Goa needs people who have a wider
perspective because the clowns you have incharge of
the tourism industry are going to keep you eating out
of shacks for the rest of Goa's tryst with tourism.
CP:
I totally agree with you that we need people with a wider perspective and
varied experience. I also agree that the current politicians and
bureaucrats have to be replaced by a new breed of sincere, committed,
educated and experienced people. All I am questioning Elisabeth is whether
you with your limited knowledge of ground realities, and your current
placement, are best qualified to replace then.
There are qualified and capable NRGs and there are ...
Cheers!
==========
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