Govt work not God’s, but authorities’: Hoekstra

Govt work not God’s, but authorities’: Hoekstra
Deccan Herald

“Government work is God’s work” — the inspirational inscription at Vidhana Soudha depicts the root of Bangalore’s problems, CEO of Phillips India Bob Hoekstra pointed out on Monday.

“The problem is the authorities are truly believing in this motto. They hope their work will be done by the God,” Hoekstra said while delivering at a talk on ‘How we can make Bangalore better?’ at Rotary House of Service, HAL II Stage.

Showing familiar pictures of potholes, tree stumps and bad roads in his presentation, he wondered if the civil engineers ever took their families on a Sunday outing and flaunted the pothole-ridden roads as examples of their workmanship.

“These pictures suggest a complete lack of ownership, accountability and pride in their work,” he observed.

Appreciating the stre-ngths of Bangalore, he said that the spirit of the City’s old neighbourhoods, the academic traditions and the ambition of local companies will make Bangalore “unstoppable”.

Hope

As far as the crumbling infrastructure is concerned, the Philips India predicted that the citizens will survive this too and make “development” happen. However, he stressed that the public should rise and become decision makers. “It is the citizens’ responsibility to make the authorities realise that government work is not God’s work, it is their work,” he said.