The unemployment figures are staring at us right in our faces. A staggering 1,22,006 people are unemployed in the state. You go a little deeper into statistics and we see 41,906 unemployed graduates in the State comprising 28,143 girls and 13,763 boys. These are astounding figures to trigger panic in any government, but hang on, they may not be accurate figures. For the record, government has no real-time database of the unemployed youth, neither a count of jobs available in the state.
The vexed unemployment issue took pole position on the eve of Revolution Day. Navelim MLA Luizinho Faleiro has assured introduction of the ‘The Goa Unemployment Assistance and Self-Employment Scheme Bill, 2018’ in the upcoming monsoon session of the Assembly. But these appear only political-flavoured announcements which are a total misfit into Goa’s larger picture.
The State government is already spending over a whopping Rs 700 crore annually towards social schemes and this unemployment dole could only mean adding another Rs 100 crore per month, going purely by the law of averages. Can the government afford it?
The government has been struggling to raise revenue after mining shutdown dealt a severe blow to its treasury. An immediate challenge for the government would be to bridge this huge revenue deficit and adding more schemes could only make it worse for now.
Secondly, there are some schemes which appear good only on paper. This scheme too sounds very lucrative to the jobless youth. But can the Navelim MLA or the government guarantee the parents and families of the youth that this unemployment dole will not be misused? Can Faleiro confidently assure that youth will stop taking drugs or not go into other addictions once they lay their hands on this money? Can Faleiro assure us that youth will use the dole productively and search for a job? And lastly, can Faleiro assure us that youth will not use the money to soak themselves into liquor, night parties and stray away from normal life?
Goans have been drawn to foreign lands and have been flocking to Europe on Portuguese passports despite Brexit, because they have lost hope of making a decent living in Goa with the salaries that are on offer. Inflation is mounting and prices of essential commodities have gone beyond the reach of the common man. When thousands of youth queue up overnight for even temporary jobs, it is an indicator that there are a few that just want government jobs for the salaries on offer, even if it means for a short period. There are practically difficulties on the ground while looking at private sector jobs. Industries opt for migrants because they come for a lower wage and there is no legislation in place discouraging this practice.
The fallout of these doles could be severe and could put our jobless youth into a comfort zone of living a carefree life without any responsibilities and encumbrances. On the contrary, government should think of ways and means to create employment opportunities and open up jobs keeping in mind the standard of living of average Goans.
