New GOPIO President vows to improve its image

Auckland: In recent years, GOPIO (Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin) in New Zealand has been in the news in Kiwi Indian circles, having courted a string of controversies on a range of matters.

But after months of the organisation being in a limbo of sorts, a new interim president has been elected pending the adoption of a new constitution, which is expected to be ready in March or April 2011.

The new interim president Rakesh Gupta, who till recently was President of the Botany Chapter of GOPIO, has been unanimously elected and has vowed to bring an end to the favouritism, politics, controversial appointments and factionalism within the organisation.

Mr Gupta said he was not a member of any political party and hence would try his best to keep GOPIO apolitical. He also clarified that the two controversial appointments made hastily earlier this year had been disestablished with immediate effect.

Certain unavoidable circumstances created in the past had been a learning process for GOPIO, Mr Gupta said. He would endeavour to do things better in the future and focus on working for the community alongside likeminded organisations.

He said he would like to establish meaningful communication with the community and expressed a desire to work closely with Indian Weekender toward this end. He congratulated Indian Weekender for providing positive journalism, which had made the community proud.

Excerpts of the interview:
 

IW: On what basis was your appointment made? Was there an election? What about other official positions? When will they be appointed?
Rakesh Gupta: I was appointed unanimously and Satish Sharma remains the area co-ordinator and Sandeep Aggarwal is the Treasurer plus all chapter presidents remain on the executive.

How long has GOPIO been in New Zealand?
GOPIO started in October 2008, so it has been around for a little over 2 years.

What has GOPIO achieved in these two years?
The top five achievements are: 1. A medical camp to provide free tests for diabetes 2. Fund raising for Fiji flood victims 3. Fund raising for slain taxi driver Hiren Mohini’s family 4. Cultural celebrations including holi etc 5. Conduct a workshop on family violence.

What is GOPIO offering the Indian diaspora in NZ that other prominent organisations are not? Why should anybody join GOPIO?
All existing organisations are only within NZ and GOPIO has an international aspect. GOPIO through its international footprint can help lobby the Indian Government for issues affecting NRI’s as GOPIO international is in constant touch with the Govt. Of India and use their good offices to protect the rights of people of Indian origin. International networking and linkages is something that GOPIO provides and others don’t.

One convincing argument why one should join GOPIO?
Maybe we don’t have one now other than the international networking aspect – but will surely prove ourselves in the days to come.

Do you have a documented plan for your activities in the days to come?
No – but we will formulate one soon.

Why did senior executive members of GOPIO resign recently?
The people who have resigned did not cite clear reasons. I feel they resigned due to difference of opinion.

There is a perception that GOPIO is a closed, elitist club because of the way some of its affairs have been conducted in the past. Any comments?
In the case of the Kapil Sibal visit, due to short notice by the High Commission maybe there were some anomalies in the organisation of the event. I will work towards ensuring that this perception is changed and everyone feels involved. In the future, our actions will reflect the learnings we have made from our past actions.

GOPIO has been recently linked with the Papatoetoe voter scam. What do you have to say?
This is a very unfortunate incident. I was in the dark about certain people and personalities prior to the appointments. Even though I was part of the executive that approved the appointments, I feel that more due diligence should have been done before the appointments and they should not have been rushed into. I will work towards improving the image and controlling any damage done. Those positions have now been disestablished and we wish to distance GOPIO from such people and actions.

There was a new constitution mooted with a committee appointed for its drafting? What's the progress?
A sub committee headed by a lawyer is looking into it and hopefully by March or April we will adopt this new constitution which will be followed by fresh elections for the committee. The existing constitution does not have a proper system of election.

Other GOPIO chapters seem to think there is no need for a separate constitution as it already has one. So why the need for a new constitution?
Some of the chapter constitutions are very good but the needs for the national constitution are different from the chapter constitutions and hence the need for a comprehensive national constitution whereby all the financial reporting cycles of each chapter will also be streamlined.