Majority approve Granger’s performance, say give him a chance

Aug 23, 2015 Letters

Dear Editor,
A majority of the voting population approved of the performance of David Granger as President in the early days of his Presidency as revealed in the findings of an opinion poll conducted by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association. His Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, also had similar approval rating. The majority felt the two leaders and their government should be given a chance to govern right after they came to power. But some three months later, both of them are experiencing declining approval rating as people complain that their living conditions and security have been worsening. And although some PPP supporters approved of the performance of the government, almost all of them support their party’s initial boycott (for three months) of and return to parliament.
The performance rating of the President and Prime Minister is largely linked to racial and political affiliation with APNU/AFC supporters approving of their performance and PPP supporters disapproving of their performance.
Asked if they approve of the performance of David Granger as President, 55% approved (including a significant percentage of PPP supporters) in the early days of his Presidency with 39% disapproving. Nagamootoo’s approval rating was 57% to 36% (receiving a higher thumps up from among PPP supporters who felt he was ‘wronged’ by the leadership of his former party forcing his departure). The performance of the government in its early days also had a majority rating of 52% (41% disapproving) with many PPP supporters saying “to give it a chance” although virtually every PPP supporter felt the election was “rigged”. However, since the early days of the swearing in of the new government, the approval rating of the President, Prime Minister, and the government have been sinking – largely a result of what people say are/were unforced errors in governance, cancellation of popular social welfare programs, termination of employment of state workers viewed as political witch hunting, rise in crime, perceived racial discrimination, stalled economy, palpable racism, etc. Currently, virtually no PPP supporter speaks positively of the President, Prime Minister or the government. Also, many APNU/AFC supporters are now disenchanted with the President, Prime Minister, and the government over its policies and programs. Some half of AFC supporters disapprove of some of the policies of the new government expressing disappointment in the party’s leadership in not speaking out against violations of the Cummingsburg Accord, removal of certain powers from AFC controlled Ministries, and certain unpopular government policies. Supporters of the PPP are now viewing Nagamootoo and Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan as “window dressing” feeling hey should resign from the government.
The approval/disapproval rating of Granger, Nagamootoo and the government respectively in mid-August stood at: 48-44%, 46-45%, and 45-50%. The Minister (Joe Harmon) in charge of the Presidency has an even lower rating and people seeing him as the “real President” and as being largely responsible for government policies. Unless the government reverses course on its unpopular policies, its rating will continue to go down south. Some 5% of PPP supporters and half of AFC supporters hold out hope that President Granger will change course in his Presidency to turn around the economy and end discrimination.
Asked whether they approve of the initial PPP boycott of parliament, the response was 47% yes to 47% no with almost every PPP supporter saying yes and every APNU/AFC supporter said no; PPP supporters are convinced their party was rigged out of office with the connivance of the US Charge (Ambassador).
Asked if they think the Cummingsburg Accord is being violated, 56% said yes with 37% saying no. Supporters of APNU and AFC are confident that the leadership of both parties will sort out what they view are minor hiccups in the execution of the accord.
Overall, a majority of the population do not feel the country is moving in the right direction and are losing confidence in the future of the country.
Vishnu Bisram

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