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...well the survey was done a year ago... maybe he has recovered trust now 
We Don't Trust PM - Report
Published: Thursday | March 17, 20116 Comments
Livern Barrett, Gleaner Writer
A study funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has found that the number of Jamaicans who say they trust Prime Minister Bruce Golding plummeted by double digits last year.
The findings of the study, which were released during a USAID discussion forum at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in St Andrew yesterday, also pointed to waning confidence in some key national institutions.
According to the study, which was conducted by the University of the West Indies, Mona, and the US-based Vanderbilt University between January and February last year, 38.9 per cent or almost four out of every 10 Jamaicans said they did not trust Golding.
This represents a 14 per cent decrease from the 52.9 per cent recorded in 2008, months after the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) won the 2007 general election.
Respondents were not asked to state why they had lost confidence in the prime minister, but UWI Professor Balford Lewis, who was part of the team that conducted the study, said he believed it was related to the promises he made during the election campaign to improve the structure of governance.
"We just feel that it's because he made promises that he did not keep and people started to get impatient with him," Lewis told The Gleaner at the end of the forum.
Angell declined comment
After Golding, the police saw the biggest decline in confidence, moving from 42.3 per cent in 2008 to 32.6 per cent last year.
Director of communications for the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), Karl Angell, declined comment yesterday, saying Commissioner of Police Owen Ellington had not yet seen the findings.
"Trust is the extent to which you are performing according to expectations. These institutions that are declining are performing below people's expectations," Lewis explained.
"When you don't trust your public officials, when you don't trust the institutions, apathy start to set in and people start to participate less in the affairs of the country," he added.
The media, the electoral office and the army were the three institutions that enjoyed increased confidence among the population.
The findings were troubling for Professor Trevor Munroe, the director of the National Integrity Action Forum, who said Golding has to accept responsibility to regain that trust.
"He must fulfil commitments made to the people by responding to advocacy from civil society, the private sector and young people to carry out the necessary reforms in governance in the country," Munroe said.
livern.barrett@gleanerjm.com
We Don't Trust PM - Report
Published: Thursday | March 17, 20116 Comments
Livern Barrett, Gleaner Writer
A study funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has found that the number of Jamaicans who say they trust Prime Minister Bruce Golding plummeted by double digits last year.
The findings of the study, which were released during a USAID discussion forum at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in St Andrew yesterday, also pointed to waning confidence in some key national institutions.
According to the study, which was conducted by the University of the West Indies, Mona, and the US-based Vanderbilt University between January and February last year, 38.9 per cent or almost four out of every 10 Jamaicans said they did not trust Golding.
This represents a 14 per cent decrease from the 52.9 per cent recorded in 2008, months after the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) won the 2007 general election.
Respondents were not asked to state why they had lost confidence in the prime minister, but UWI Professor Balford Lewis, who was part of the team that conducted the study, said he believed it was related to the promises he made during the election campaign to improve the structure of governance.
"We just feel that it's because he made promises that he did not keep and people started to get impatient with him," Lewis told The Gleaner at the end of the forum.
Angell declined comment
After Golding, the police saw the biggest decline in confidence, moving from 42.3 per cent in 2008 to 32.6 per cent last year.
Director of communications for the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), Karl Angell, declined comment yesterday, saying Commissioner of Police Owen Ellington had not yet seen the findings.
"Trust is the extent to which you are performing according to expectations. These institutions that are declining are performing below people's expectations," Lewis explained.
"When you don't trust your public officials, when you don't trust the institutions, apathy start to set in and people start to participate less in the affairs of the country," he added.
The media, the electoral office and the army were the three institutions that enjoyed increased confidence among the population.
The findings were troubling for Professor Trevor Munroe, the director of the National Integrity Action Forum, who said Golding has to accept responsibility to regain that trust.
"He must fulfil commitments made to the people by responding to advocacy from civil society, the private sector and young people to carry out the necessary reforms in governance in the country," Munroe said.
livern.barrett@gleanerjm.com
