LET THE FACTS BE KNOWN:-
The Managing Committee of the Goan Welfare Society – Kuwait (GWS), has taken a
united stand to bring the facts on record, so as to convey the message to all
Goans, who are keen on knowing the reasons for the decisions that have been
jointly and unanimously taken to ensure that GWS functions smoothly hereafter.
The following, sequence of events, will help to understand, what were the
compelling reasons, for the expulsion of the four erring members, viz. Carmo
Santos, Gasper Almeida, Suresh Naik and Caetano Pinheiro.
1- As per the law in force in Kuwait, in particular, and Middle East in
general, no Associations can be registered and as such opening of accounts in
the name of GWS does not arise. It’s the normal practice that the accounts are
held in the names of three persons; namely President, Treasurer and General
Secretary, with due consent of the Managing Committee, and as per the
Constitution. Those living and talking, from the East and the West, must take
note of these constrains and limitations that we in the ME are faced with.
2- GWS was duly registered in Goa way back in 1995, mainly with a purpose
to meet the key objective of establishing an NRI Goan City, exclusively for the
Members and other like minded Goans, with all the infrastructure and other
facilities, such as good Roads, Housing, School, Clinic, Library, Supermarket,
Technical Workshops, so as to create employment etc, etc. It should be noted
that this was planned for the benefit of the retired Goans who chose to settle
permanently in Goa, as they cannot live in this part of the world for want of a
Permanent Residence Status, unlike in the other parts of the world. Realizing
that, some day, as and when the jobs are lost or given up, they have to pack
their bags and baggage and go home. Those at the helm of affairs of GWS did
work on a long drawn out plan. The land in Goa, if at all was to be acquired,
could be done only in the name of GWS and no individuals.
3- Accounts in the name of GWS were opened with Central Bank of India and
Catholic Syrian Bank and operated for some time until it was discovered that
the GWS cannot derive benefit for themselves (MEMBERS) as per the Society’s
Registration Act. After due consultation with the Chartered Accountants in
Goa, the Registration was discontinued due to the fact that the GWS in their
Constitution are under obligation to pay Death Benefit to the members. This
aspect had to be given a very serious look. Eventually the accounts were
closed as a safeguard against the law since the Society’s registration was not
renewed. GWS could only give charity to other than the members, as per the
provisions of the Act, and this was not suitable due to the commitment to pay
Death Benefit to the nominees of the deceased members. The very purpose of
instituting the Death Benefit Scheme to Members was to serve the Goans who were
stranded for want of funds upon the death of the sole bread earn
ers. The need for such a Scheme was felt, after having witnessed the war and
the plight of Goans here.
4- GWS funds comprise of a one time permanent membership fee with a
commitment to the members to pay Rs.10,000/- for the deceased member with
KD10/- membership, Rs.20,000/- for KD20/- so on with the maximum of Rs 50,000/-
to KD50/ member. It also includes some profits generated with the toil of the
Managing Committee particularly those who worked selflessly with dedication and
devotion making sacrifices for the love of Community. GWS had three key annual
events namely; Goa Day, Christmas Tree and May Queen Ball. It is pertinent to
note that no single function can be a profitable event without the Souvenir and
sponsorship, where the advertisements are purely the sacrifices of limited few
who have the contacts and connections. Such contributions are done on
personalized basis and do not come easy.
5- GWS had to take a new look with regards to their liabilities on
accounts of eventual Claims towards Death Benefits. The ex General Secretary
was supposed to organize this as per the Category of Membership. As a matter of
fact, despite of the present President personally compiling the Membership
Register in a floppy during his previous tenure and handing over the disket
(floppy) to the Ex-General Secretary to update and finalize the records in
order to assess the liability to GWS at any given time. This was never done by
Ex-General Secretary. The job was later assigned to Ms. Sharon. Since there
were proper records, she was not able to do it either. So the matter remained
pending until this day. Despite having failed to perform his duties, the
Ex-General Secretary had the audacity to publish on the press that all the
records of GWS have been handed over to the Managing Committee with is blatant
lie. What was received and documented is only unwanted materials an
d not the GWS Membership Files and Register of Members and other important
records which are important for smooth functioning of an organization.
6- At one of the AGM, a member had requested to submit the detailed
breakdown of the Membership to ascertain the commitment and liabilities of GWS
towards its members and make appropriate provisions for settlement of claims
from time to time.
7- Let it be clearly known, to one and all, that no bank account can be
held in the name of GWS in Kuwait and hence the only option, right from
inception, was to hold GWS funds in individual names. The Managing Committee,
through duly approved Resolutions, from time to time, appoint three members,
generally the President, Treasurer and General Secretary, who are responsible
for maintaining, the GWS Funds in their joint names. In addition, a duly
signed undertaking is obtained from the signatories to the GWS accounts stating
that these are the funds of GWS and that they or their heirs have no claims
over these Funds. This practice has been going on for the last 20 years, and
it is the most suitable solution which has not only the approval of the
Managing Committee but of all the General Body Members. Similarly, GWS Funds
are held jointly, in three individuals names, in Goa as well, as is done in
Kuwait, to avoid funds being subjected to Income Tax and other deduction
s, on interest earned by virtue of being Resident Accounts. It may be noted
that for the Income Tax purposes, GWS becomes a Resident Body and is liable to
pay income tax just as in the cases of individuals. Thus far, the Funds of GWS
have been enjoying the privileges of Non-Resident External (NRE) Accounts
thereby safeguarding every naya paisa earned by way of interest. Had the
members of GWS not been diligent in their ways of handling the Funds, most of
the Funds would have gone towards payments of Income Taxes. The disgruntled
elements among our community cannot bear to see the growing Funds in the names
of any three duly authorized individuals hence they align with non-members and
try to poison the minds of others, who really are not members of GWS. It
should be clearly understood that the GWS Funds belong solely to the members
who have contributed towards the building of the funds and no outsider has a
right to question GWS on this matter.
8- The people who talk about GWS and its management do so clearly out of
frustration as they are failures in their own life and cannot bear to see well
meaning Goans do good for the community. Simply put, they do not know how to
live and let others live.
9- During the last 20 years, GWS has done yeoman service to the Goan
community, particularly, lending a helping hand towards bearing repatriation
cost of destitute domestic workers, representing accident victims for filing
Insurance Claims on their behalf, assisting in transportation of mortal
remains of deceased persons, settling claims of death benefits, obtaining
Workman’s compensation, assisting in rehabilitation of displaced persons,
taking up legal and social matters with the Embassy of India in Kuwait, who in
turn take up the matters with the appropriate authorities here through
diplomatic channels, affording relief by way of payment of school fees of
children whose parents fall in the low income bracket, granting of scholarships
to top rankers in Kuwait and Goa.
10- It must be noted that every Goan who stayed here during the occupation
and those who came to Kuwait soon after Liberation, helped fellow Goans to come
back and take up their previous jobs. It was a very simple exercise to be
precise, the Employers were not aware of the contacts or addresses of the
people who worked for them before the ill-fated Invasion, so they were on the
lookout for the contacts, which were provided to them by those who had resumed
work at that time. Nobody really claimed credit for doing this yeoman service
to fellow Goans but did it in silence with honour and dignity. To be very frank
even non-Goans have provided information and contacts of Goans who were known
to them. These were not really new appointments. The fresh recruitments were
done much later when business in Kuwait started flourishing. Taking credit for
such service is indeed cheap to say the least.
The prime reason, for the expulsion of the members named herein are as
follows:-
During the tenure of the Managing Committee under the President ship of, Carmo
Santos, from 2004 - 2007, a lot of mismanagement had taken place, whereby the
image of GWS was badly affected. All the same, a few of the then Managing
Committee Members, who were eager to set things right, took the initiative to
hold a General Body Meeting in April 2007 and at that AGM, Chaired by Carmo
Santos, a new Managing Committee was duly elected, in which, Wilson Coelho, was
elected as the President of GWS, which extended from, 2007 up to 2010. Carmo
Santos was not even elected to the new Managing Committee and Gasper Almeida,
who was elected as the General Secretary, in the new Managing Committee,
tendered his resignation, a day after his election, citing personal reasons.
On acceptance of his resignation, he was requested to hand over all the
records, files, registers, and other assets of GWS, which were in his custody
by virtue of his being the General Secretary, until then. However
, till date he has not handed over the records to the newly elected General
Secretary, for reasons best known to him. Thereafter, several efforts to
recover the records also failed, due to the stubborn attitude of Gasper
Almeida. Being left with no choice, GWS Managing Committee, was compelled to
take the steps, including publishing in the Press and Electronic Media, to
safeguard the interests of the Members, who are ultimately the sufferers and
victims of circumstances.
As regards, recovery of funds due to GWS, the Managing Committee wrote to Carmo
Santos to pay the amount of approximately KD 3000/-, which were shown in the
closing balance as receivables from him and mind you, this Accounts Statement
for the year ending April 2007, was duly signed by him and the Treasurer (copy
or which on record for anyone to verify), and which he had promised to pay the
very next day after the AGM. He failed to live up to his commitment and also
went on to counter claim dues on bogus grounds. His refusal to pay the amount
due from him or giving any explanation, lead the Managing to go public and
take other legal actions.
It’s important to note that during the tenure ship of Carmo Santos a plot was
hatched to destroy GWS and give birth to another association under the name
“Goan Cultural Center”. Even while holding the post of President of GWS, Carmo
Santos along with three other Committee Members namely Gasper Almeida, Suresh
Naik and Caetano Pinheiro acted against the interest of GWS only to gain
personal benefits by using GWS platform. A Cuiltural Troup from Goa named
“Kepenchim Kirna was arranged through the Directorate of Arts & Culture Govt of
Goa. Now, instead of organizing a Goan Food and Cultural Festival in the name
of GWS a fictitious name of one Patrick Miranda was used and all the benefits
which were due to GWS were conveniently diverted for their own personal
benefits. The entire expenses of the Cultural Troup were paid by Govt of Goa
under the impression that GWS was hosting the same. When questioned as to how
this was done, Carmo Santos had no explanation except to resort
to violence and intimidation through personal emails addressed to those
opposed to his actions.
Ever since, the malafide intentions of the four Members who stand expelled,
were exposed they have resorted to all kinds of gimmicks which ultimately had
no credibility. It must be mentioned that the Managing Committee of that time
under the leadership of Wilson Coelho stood the test of times and never
allowed any of their gimmicks to succeed.
During the tenure of Carmo Santos 2004 to 2007, the scholarships both in Goa
and Kuwait for the year 2005 – 2006 & 2007 were never granted even though the
funds were available, for reasons best known to them, thereby depriving the
deserving students the benefits of Scholarships instituted by our Patron
Member, Mr. Sam Alphonso. Also the annual activities were totally paralyzed
after the disastrous May Queen Ball 2005 for which Carmo Santos, Gasper
Almeida, Suresh Naik & Caetano Pinheiro were solely responsible. If any one
wishes for the detailed report of the disaster that took place and the reasons
for the same a separate report can be provided.
As regards of the review of the Constitution and proposed amendments, a draft
copy was circulated to all the members at the AGM in year 2008 to study and
suggest suitable changes. Caetano Pinheiro who always harped on being an
expert in Constitutional matters, having claimed that he was instrumental in
drafting the KIFF (Kuwait India Footbal Federation) Constitution, he was given
the opportunity to contribute towards updating the GWS Constitution. However,
he never came up with any proposal or suggestion until after the dead line set
for the same. It is important to note that at the Extra-Ordinary AGM set for
approval and adoption of the re-drafted Constitution, Caetano Pinheiro raised
objection which were already time barred only to create confusion and disturb
the meeting. He was told to behave himself and abide by the decorum and
decency which is of paramount importance to any public meeting. His expulsion
was on account of his circulation of Society’s private & conf
idential matters even while he was a member of the Managing Committee to the
public in gross violation of the code of conduct.
The expulsion of Suresh Naik was due to the fact that he took over the
Presidentship of Goan Cultural Center while he was a member and worked against
the interest of GWS. From the time he was a Committee Member, his only
ambition was to gain personal benefits which were seen from the time he
demanded commission for a deal while negation on the purchase of land in Goa to
build an NRI City which was against the very principles of GWS. Having been
denied the desired personal benefits (commissions) he went all out to support
and be active in destroying GWS for which GWS had no other action but to expel
him.
After having been served the official notice to handover all the records,
Membership and other files, Membership register, assets such as letter heads,
rubber stamps, lamination machine etc he went into a defiance mode and started
sending out emails abusing the Managing Committee for things that were
inappropriate. Since he and the others were afraid of being taken to task for
cases of defamation, they resorted to indulge in using anonymous names such
as:- Jose Pereira. Rocky Fernandes, Dr. Vijay Amonkar, Michael Coelho, RedRosy
etc for publishing defamatory messages in internet particularly Goa-World of
which he claims to be a moderator. He went on to the extent of threatening
every opposing member with his usual stunt of showing his shoe of king size.
The only credit, if at all he deserves where he is where he is an expert in in
cut, copy and paste and selective postings and promoting his dear and near ones.
It’s also pertinent to note that because of all the destructive plans of the
four named above, the progress of GWS was severely hampered. A written show
cause notices were served to each of the expelled members for which no
justifiable replies were ever received thereby accepting their guilt.
Going back to the time before the tenure of Carmo Santos, in the year 2004
during the Presidency of Rabindra Pimenta at the AGM held in 2004 at Kyber
Restaurant in Sharq, it was resolved to suspend the registration of new members
with Death Benefit due to the need to assess the liabilities of GWS over a
period of time. The proposal for such a resolution was brought forward by
Mariano De Silva who envisaged the erosion of GWS funds due to the payment of
Claims. Therefore, any member registered after the said resolution, is deemed
to be illegally registered member. The justification if any for registering
new members during the pendency period rests with Carmo Santos and Gasper
Almeida. In the year 2007 during the Presidency of Wilson Coelho due to
persistent requests from Goans to be members of GWS, the membership was opened
but the only benefit which was denied to such members is the death benefit
scheme which was available to all the members registered until passing of t
he resolution in 2004.
The membership records during the period 2004 to 2007 are suspected to have
been manipulated else there is no reason for both to hold on to the records for
fear of being exposed.
In conclusion the reason for expulsion was purely due to the compultion and not
out of any personal vengeance.
Wilson Coelho
for Managing Committee
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