CHURCH FAILS TO ADDRESS PAEDOPHILIA CONCERNS

By RAJAN NARAYAN

AND A FEW more stray thoughts and a few more observations for yet another Sunday. For a Sunday following the week when Isidore “Judas” Fernandes was poised to take a headlong plunge into the saffron pool. For a Sunday following the week when more cases of paedophilia came to light. For a Sunday following the week when work on IFFI projects proceeded at breakneck speed with no consideration for the safety of either Panjimites or workers. For a Sunday following the week when we discovered how State-owned public sector companies function. For a Sunday following the week when the State government again yielded to pressure and blackmail from the two-wheeler lobby.

And a few stray thoughts on the impending defection of Isidore Fernandes, the Poinguinin MLA to the Bharatiya Janata Party. On Thursday morning Isidore Fernandes handed over his resignation from the Legislative Assembly to the Speaker Vishwas Satarkar. And the resignation was just as promptly accepted by the Speaker. Congress leaders are trying their best to dissuade Isidore from taking the plunge. But an adamant Isidore is refusing to listen to any of their entreaties. On the contrary he has rebuffed them and accused them of being hypocrites. He is reported to have told the President of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) Luizinho Faleiro that he had no right to preach loyalty when he himself had been secretly collaborating with Manohar Parrikar. Isidore is also reported to have accused several other Congress leaders belonging to the minority community of colluding and collaborating with the BJP.

“Unlike all of you who make secret deals with Parrikar, I prefer to make a straightforward and honest deal for the benefit of my constituency,” he is reported to have told those who asked him to desist from joining the saffron brigade. The irony is that according to the new draft assembly delimitation proposals, the constituency that Isidore represents is likely to disappear. The Poinguinin constituency is expected to be merged with neighbouring Sanguem and Canacona in the new delimitation proposals. Rumours are rife that several other Congress legislators may emulate the example of Isidore including the Quepem MLA who is also being actively wooed by Manohar Parrikar. Isidore’s expected defection to the BJP has further demoralised the Congress Party. The rank and file of the party including the Youth Congress chief Girish Chodankar is reported to be demanding the sacking of Pratapsing Raoji Rane and Luizinho Faleiro as leaders of the Congress Legislative Party and the Pradesh Congress in the wake of Isidore’s resignation.

PAEDOPHILIA IN THE CHURCH
AND A FEW stray observations on the new case of paedophilia that surfaced this week. This time around, the allegation of paedophilia was made against the Parish Priest of Ribander, Father Newton Fernandes. A section of parishners led by the irrepressible Aires Rodrigues accused the parish priest of molesting a 13-year-old girl in the Ribander Church premises on Christmas eve under the guise of hearing her confession. The explanation offered by Aires and the other parishioners for the nine-month delay in the young lady revealing what had been done to her is that they were waiting for the Church to take action. The parishioners were even more enraged when the priest Newton Fernandes registered a case against Aires and others for trasspassing into his residence and disturbing the peace of the church. Characteristically, the police were quick to register the complaint by the accused. The leading women’s right activist Auda Viegas has claimed that she confronted the priest and he virtually admitted to having molested the young woman. A formal complaint has been made and the Police are expected to arrest the Priest soon. When Goan Observer contacted the Bishop’s Palace, a spokesperson claimed that the Bishop is examining the whole matter and had asked the victim and her mother to meet him.

The Church however has yet to make a public statement either on the Don Bosco episode or the latest allegation of paedophilia. The priest in the middle of the new paedophilia storm is reported to have an unsavoury reputation. There have been allegations that he had enticed and seduced the wife of a shippie while he was the parish priest of Velim. Unable to come to terms with his wife’s affair with the priest, the husband is reported to have committed suicide. Parishioners in Merces where Father Newton Fernandes was posted for a short time, claim that he was removed after allegedly attempting to molest a young boy. A parishioner from Merces recalls that the priest was beaten up and had to flee to Old Goa when confronted by angry parishioners of Merces. This is by no means an isolated case and I understand that there is a thick file at the Bishop’s Palace containing allegations of paedophilia against several members of the clergy. Paedophilia apart, cases of Priests not taking their vows of celibacy seriously are even more common. Priests attached to the Diocese, unlike those belonging to other religious orders, are not required to take a vow of poverty or dissociate themselves from their families. A consequence of this is that men of the cloth in Goa are engaged in property disputes with members of their family all the time. Many members of the clergy have also set up flourishing businesses ranging from hotels and lodges to printing presses.

There were expectations that the new Archbishop Felipe Neri would crack down on the extracurricular activities of the clergy. Sadly, this has not happened and indiscipline continues to be rampant. No wonder respect for the clergy in Goa has reached the lowest ebb and more and more people are being drawn to charismatic organisations. And talking of paedophilia, the Porvorim police seem to have given the Vidya Prabodhini molestation case a quiet burial. Not withstanding persistent claims from those close to the family that the accused teacher Joshi has a record of getting overfamiliar with his female students. A source close to the family of the victim told the Goan Observer that the teacher had allegedly harassed the victim on three occasions prior to the incident over which the parents lodged a complaint.

IFFI AND CRIMINAL CARELESSNESS
AND A FEW stray observations on the callous, criminal lack of attention to safety in the ongoing IFFI-related projects. Despite concerned citizens drawing the attention of the Commissioner of the Corporation of the City of Panjim and others to the broken railings at Dona Paula and the exposed river front, no action has been taken either by the GSIDC or the contractors. Despite a clear directive from the North Goa Districtor Collector Kesh Kamat, the contractors have failed to put up protective barriers to prevent accidents and even deaths. As many as three tourists are reported to have fallen into the sea because of the huge gaps in the railings at Dona Paula jetty. They would have died except for the presence of mind of locals who rescued them from a watery grave. The stretch between Campal and Patto Bridge on the riverfront continues to stand exposed with neither railings nor even a barricade. Every second day new diversions are created to speed up the road widening sans any safety precautions. Most pathetic is the plight of the migrant labour working at the sites. In many cases the labourers are required to break cement slabs embedded with iron rods with bare hands and primitive tools. None of the labour force has been supplied with basic safety equipment like industrial shoes, gloves or goggles. No one knows how many incidents of injury have occurred since the tenderers have sub-contracted the work to labour contractors on a piece rate basis.

A concerned citizen, Annand Madgavkar, is shocked that work which is supposed to be supervised by an international consultant and have been awarded by prestigious Indian firms should be carried out in such an irresponsible manner. Concerned citizens have drawn the Governor’s attention to the callous criminal indifference displayed by GSIDC, the nodal agency for IFFI projects to safety aspects. I also understand that the GSIDC has yet to secure permissions from concerned authorities like the Corporation of the City of Panjim and the PDA for undertaking major modifications at the Kala Academy. Moreover the detailed plans are apparently still not ready and work is being carried out on an ad hoc basis. What is sauce for the goose is obviously not sauce for the gander. I understand that none of the contractors for IFFI projects have secured the mandatory health cards for the labour they have engaged.

EDC COVER-UPS
AND A STRAY thought on how irresponsibly State public sector companies function. The annual report of the Economic Development Corporation for the year 2001-2002 reveal that the apex finance body in the state has no system in place for evaluating property and other assets offered as security against loans advanced. So much so the EDC is not able to determine the extent of the non-performing assets. For the benefit of the uninitiated, a non-performing asset is a loan which is considered fully or partly irrecoverable. This is in turn linked to a deliberate overvaluation of the assets pledged by parties who have taken loans from the EDC. Understandably, the EDC has been evasive about the extent of its non-performing assets. The auditor’s report for 2001-2002 reveals that the company has mischievously passed off non-performing assets under the head of “reserves and surplus”. This has led to an understatement of the current liabilities by as much as Rs.60.91 crores.

By juggling figures and misrepresenting facts the EDC has been trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the tax-payers on the extent of the losses it has suffered. The Auditor’s Report points out that the losses suffered have been understated to the extent of Rs.55 crores. Most shocking of all is the revelation that the outstanding interest alone has risen sharply from Rs.207 crores in 2001 to Rs.274 crores in 2002. The report also adversely comments on EDC’s investment in private limited companies such as Zuari Foods, Desai Cement and Karapur Agro. The last named is a company which was floated by Vishwajeet Rane, the son of the LOO, and which has long since closed down. Yet another example of the mismanagement of public sector companies is the Goa Handicrafts Corporation. Ironically, handicrafts account for only Rs.35 lakhs of the Rs.13 crore turnover of the Goa Handicrafts Corporation. The bulk of the revenue and the turnover of the company comes from marketing steel for the Steel Authority of India. But apparently even this the Corporation cannot handle efficiently. The corporations’s marketing costs were higher than its sales in the year 2002-2003.

And a few more stray thoughts on the saffron-isation and the ethnic cleansing underway in the Information Department. Under the guise of overstaffing, the government is reportedly on the verge of retiring or transferring 25 existing staff members. It is of course just a coincidence that the majority of the staff sought to be transferred belong to the minority community or are suspected to be hostile to the Chief Minister. Or at least not enthusiastic enough in implementing the Parrikar govern-ment’s saffron agenda. The joint director Menino Pires, who was the first casualty, has yet to be given a posting. Senior officers in the Department are particularly sore over the appointment of Sitaram Naik, a primary teacher, and part-time Suna-parant Correspondent as an Officer on Special Duty. He was ostensibly brought in to strengthen the Konkani Department. There are persistent rumours that the CM’s favourite journalist, Jyoti Dhond, will be inducted as Joint Director.

AND A LAST stray thought for yet another Sunday. As expected, the Goa government succumbed to pressure from the two-wheeler lobby and has abandoned its helmet enforcement drive. In an all too familiar scenario the police and the RTO officials displayed a great deal of enthusiasm on the first two days after the date for implementation of the helmet rule came into force. In Mapusa the police and RTO officials went on an overdrive on Independence Day and challaned over a hundred two-wheeler riders who were ‘helmetless’. To their dismay they were to refund the fine of Rs.100 each collected, apparently, on instructions from the Chief Minister. The Director General of Police tried to stand firm and insisted there was no question of returning fines. Caught between the Director General and the Chief Minister, the police apparently had to dip in their pockets to return the fines from those who demanded it back. An immediate casualty of the over-enthusiasm to enforce the helmet rule strictly has been the Director of Transport, Havaldar, who has been transferred overnight.

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