Failing grade

Forty per cent of Jamaicans have ranked the island’s municipal corporations as poor or very poor managers of the nation’s business at the local level, with another 40 per cent saying their performance was just average.

This is according to the latest RJRGLEANER Communications Group-commissioned Don Anderson polls.

Only seven per cent of those polled gave the parish councils a “very good” rating, while 13 per cent said they were “good”.

The polls were conducted between February 2 and 7, just after the February 26 date for the local government elections was announced. Using a sample size of 1,010 registered voters across the 14 parishes, responders were asked a number of questions relating to their local representatives over the last seven years.

Local government elections were last held in 2016.

In outlining the top five reasons for giving the municipal corporations a failing grade, 60 per cent of responders said their elected councillors were missing in action; 57 per cent said poor road construction; 26 per cent said lack of access to water; 23 per cent said no jobs were being created; and 10 per cent said lack of green spaces.

CRITICAL TO EXAMINE DEMOGRAPHIC

Anderson, the island’s leading pollster and head of Market Research Services Limited which conducted the polls, said it was critical to examine the demographic giving the ratings.

“The data is very clear that right now, voters give the municipal councils a net negative rating of 20 per cent. In other words, the difference between negative and positive ratings is 20 per cent down. Twenty per cent gave them a positive rating of good or very good, and 40 per cent gave then a negative rating,” Anderson explained to The Sunday Gleaner.

“Then 40 per cent were neutral. Some people want to take comfort from that neutrality; we don’t because it can go either way, because it’s neither good nor bad. The important information is the negative at 40 per cent and the positive at 20 per cent for a net negative of 20 per cent.”

The negative rating was the largest single response, he noted, as he drilled into the demographic.

“Men think the same way about the councils as women do. But those who rated the councils negatively, it was mainly in the 65-plus age group. Fifty-one per cent of the older voters rated the performance negatively, as against the overall average of 40 per cent. So you can see that they are outliers,” he said.

“We also see that only 15 per cent of young people gave them a positive rating, compared to the 20 per cent overall which gave them a positive rating. So their weakest perception is amongst the young people aged 18-24 years.”

He added that the rating among the older voting demographic was 11 percentage points above the average negative rating.

The ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has claimed support among the younger demographic, while the opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has claimed support among the older age group.

In the Don Anderson polls released late last year, 38 per cent of Jamaicans said they would vote in the local government elections. In the last six municipal elections since 1990 there have been significant voting percentage decline. In 2016, the voter turnout was 30.6 per cent. A 38 per cent voter turnout in the upcoming elections would mean a 7.4 per cent increase over 2016.

REASONS FOR THE RATINGS

Anderson said he found it interesting the reasons respondents gave for giving the municipal councils a failing grade.

“Sixty per cent of that 40 per cent said, ‘we don’t see them. They are missing. We can’t find them. They only come at election time’. This is the largest single factor that stands out and the principal reason for the negative rating. Fifty-seven per cent talked about poor road conditions and they are blaming the municipal councils for this,” he stated.

Some of the reasons proffered, Anderson said, showed a lack of understanding of the role of local government, as everything was lumped together.

“This is because people do not know about the role and function of the parish councils,” he explained.

Anderson said responders also gave positive ratings and the reasons.

“Sixty-four per cent of those who rated them positively cited improvement in social services, which again is not the purview of the municipal council but it’s happening in their division and they say it’s because of the municipal council,” he shared.

“Forty per cent said persons were getting much-needed help, so I guess you could ascribe that to them; 28 per cent of that small number said the councillor is more accessible nowadays; and 15 per cent said they have more access to water. So those would be the positive reasons they gave.”

CIVIL SOCIETY NOT SURPRISED

Robert Stephens, co-chair of civil society group the Advocates Network, is not surprised by the poll findings.

“I’m not surprised at all. I think what really needs to happen is that there needs to be far more focus on the performance of local representatives, and it is really up to all of us to demand more in terms of representation,” Stephens told The Sunday Gleaner yesterday.

“In many of the cases that we are seeing, people are turning to their MPs (members of parliament) rather than their councillors, because many people don’t know who they are. It’s a major problem.”

He continued, “We need to know the councillors and what they stand for and what it is they are going to do to improve the communities. The big problem, though, is that a lot of persons don’t even understand what the responsibilities of the councils are and that needs to be discussed and publicised, because they play a very important role in the development of communities.”

Stephens said many councils and councillors do not fully appreciate their role and much more emphasis needs to be placed on local governance.

MARAGH: NOT MY COUNCIL

At least one mayor is distancing himself from the poll findings.

Winston Maragh, the mayor of May Pen, said the body he leads has made very good progress in Clarendon. He said it was impossible for those representatives to be missing in action because of their assignments.

“The amount of things that the corporation has been doing, it is impossible for them to be missing. They are doing the work. In Clarendon, I give my councillors things to do every month and it is work that requires them to be visible. So they cannot be said to be missing,” Maragh told The Sunday Gleaner.

“It’s not like the previous mayors where people have specific times to do things. Since I took over as mayor, they constantly have targets which have to be met on a monthly basis. So no councillor here, on any side, can be said to be missing because they have things to do in their divisions,” he argued.

There is a meet-and-greet activity at least once every three months, the JLP representative said.

“We have town hall meetings, community meetings. I have told them to go and meet the people. Go to their churches, citizens’ groups, community meetings, the schools, meet the children and tell them about local government, and discuss with them how the system works. I have always said that. And I have not asked them to do anything that I have not done,” said Maragh, who became mayor following the death of Milton Brown in 2020.

However, he acknowledged that councillors were often blamed and viewed negatively for issues and activities that were not within their purview.

“Councillors have very little say in a number of things. For example, anywhere you have a main road that is bad, the people cuss the councillor. He or she is the very first person they call and cuss. It shows a lack of understanding of the role of councillors,” Maragh argued.

“I think all these things, like civics, should be added to the school curriculum, about the role and function of local and central government, and the members of parliament and councillors. People need to know what they are about.”

He said blame for lack of water and several other functions are often unfairly latched on to councillors. The National Water Commission (NWC) is responsible for larger systems, he said, while parish councils are responsible for minor systems, such as catchment tanks.

He also noted that councillors have achieved a lot for which they are not given credit.

50 PER CENT TRUE/50 PER CENT FALSE

Former State Minister in the Ministry of Local Government, Colin Fagan, believes the findings of the polls are half true.

“During my time at the ministry, what the Government stressed was community development and community empowerment. Participation in civic activities provided visibility for the representatives. If those things are in place, a councillor cannot be accused of [being] missing,” Fagan argued.

However, the former junior minister said he recounted many instances when MPs and their councillors were not on speaking terms, which led to absenteeism.

PORTMORE QUITE VISIBLE

Portmore Mayor Leon Thomas (PNP) said lack of visibility is certainly not a problem in the area being eyed for declaration as Jamaica’s fifteenth parish.

He said business operators have a good relationship with the municipal corporation and the police.

Community signage is quite prominent, he said, adding that there are several teams in place to carry out the necessary functions of the municipal corporation. He said they also host quarterly meetings in the communities.

“We have done exceptionally well in Portmore, and as for our (PNP) chances, we are going to retain the Portmore council, and we are expecting to win all 12 divisions going forward,” said Thomas.

Currently, the PNP holds 10 of 12 divisions in the Portmore municipal corporation.

LIKELY A CLOSE ELECTION

Anderson is cautioning the two main political parties, noting that the path to victory is not dissimilar to that in a general election.

“I think it is which of the parties is able to get the supporters out on the day of election. A lot of emphasis has been placed on political polls, almost as if polls determine the outcome of elections. It doesn’t,” he cautioned.

“I just want to make that point very clear, hence, regardless of what the polls are saying, on the day of elections, the effectiveness of the operations on the ground on the day is critically important. I believe that both parties are aware of that and I expect a tremendous amount of activities on the day, and that will turn the tide in what is likely to be a close election.”

Anderson pointed out that no attempt was made to conduct interviews in every parish council division as this would require a sample size in excess of 20,000 persons to achieve adequate coverage, given that there are 228 divisions islandwide.

“Since every research project has to be carried out with due consideration to time and cost, this was not practical, though not impossible to achieve,” Anderson noted.

The margin of error for the polls is plus or minus three per cent at the 95 per cent confidence level.

erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com