#GoaMediaLeaks <https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/goamedialeaks?source=feed_text&story_id=10154372884842224>
TALK OF BRIBES AND BRAND CONSULTING It’s been a while since I put out the first note about this story. Took me a few days to tighten my guard. What to do? One doesn’t suffer a hacking attempt everyday! Poor sods perhaps believed these documents (unfortunately, there’s no video this time :( ) came to me via email. Here’s what I believe. It’s the same story with most leaks really. Some guy quits an organisation, disgruntled, with a chip on his shoulder and leaks information to someone who can broadcast it. Perhaps this was how I landed this information. Anyway, enough about the potatoes, let’s get back to the meat and the gravy. Five documents were leaked to me, presumably by a former employee of the organisation. There was no note along with these sheets of pages, which seem to be self explanatory. Lets deal with the one-pager first. This letter written in June last year by Datta Shetkar, who along with Abhay Mishra ran/runs a brand consulting firm Brand Mentors and were associated with the Herald newspaper for a few eventful years. Datta, the author of the letter in an email to Herald General Manager Michael Pereira, appears to be summarising an offer made by one Raja Shukla, a business development consultant with a media industry background, vis a vis implementing a central government scheme in Goa. What’s significant here, is the open reference to corruption and cuts, which Datta so non challantly describes in his email, which according to him could be necessary to factor in, if the offer from Shukla is to be accepted. Datta explains the bribes to be potentially paid in great detail. He refers to them as “local bribes” and “cuts to panchayat secretaries”. Like a masterful tailor, who knows how to snip and stitch a pair of trousers, Datta goes on to explain even the ‘depth’ and ‘width’ of the 'cuts'. Another significant point made by Datta, is a reference made to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Goa, which he claims would want to corner a lion’s share of scheme’s benefits and also expresses a fear about the BJP possibly arm-twisting them by blocking the scheme-related funds. At the bottom of the letter, Datta also says, that these are personal views. Here are some key questions which this disclosure raises: - Can those in the employ of a newspaper, which likes its readers to believe, that it is at the front-lines of anti-corruption crusading, coolly refer to ‘local bribes’ and ‘cuts to panch secretaries as ‘significant upfront investment’? � How did the management respond to the author of the letter, who has suggested, albeit as a personal view, a virtual a la carte listing of bribes to be paid, in order to avail the benefits of a central government scheme? Datta did telephonically respond to my questionnaire which I sent him in the wee hours of Thursday. He said, that he had never in his career asked or recommended to any of his clients to offer a bribe to get things done. Datta also said that in the past, he has had to let go of business, because he refused to indulge in corruption. Datta also suggested that I may have interpreted this letter wrongly and that he was only advising his client against the perils of the proposal. He also suggested that the project discussed in the email came a cropper. Now, the letter, comment and Datta's response is before you. Make your own opinions. ------ Questions to Datta Dear Datta, I am in the process of writing a social media story about suggestions made by you, as part of Brand Mentors, to Herald, about paying bribes to obtain government funding. Would appreciate if you could respond to the queries below, which I will incorporate in the story. 1) Did you ever suggest to your former associates, the Herald, about paying of bribes to avail a government scheme and the funds it comes with? 2) While payment of bribes is not a rarity in government businesses, do you think it is right to weave in payment of bribes, as part of an upfront investment? Do you think this amounts to an attempt to institutionalise corruption and a corrupt corporate governance practice? 3) Could you tell us what happened to the summary of the offer sent by you to the Herald management in June 2015, where you made the bribery suggestion? Was it accepted or ignored by the addressees? 4) What exactly does the 'depth' of a cut and a 'width' of a cut mean in the context of a letter? Would appreciate your response by around mid-day on Thursday. best regards Mayabhushan P.S. For those who may have forgotten. The Louis Berger scam was all about a private agency, Louis Berger, paying bribes to officials of a government agency, in that case the Government of Goa, to lay its hands on a government project and the funds which come with it.
