Motorists and animals compete for space on a stretch of bad road in a rural community. - File JAMAICANS WANT the Jamaica Labour Party-dominated Parish Councils to tackle bad roads and create the environment for investments which will generate job opportunities.
This is according to the findings of the latest Gleaner-commissioned poll conducted by pollster Don Anderson and his team from Market Research Services Ltd. between September 15 and 24.
Bad roads at the community level and chronic unemployment are the two main problems across all socio-economic groups, the pollster pointed out. But he said that persons in Portland (58 per cent) and Clarendon (59 per cent) were the principal ones who saw bad roads as an immediate issue for the Parish Councils to address.
"Unemployment was cited as a pressing problem that people faced at the community level... and that this should also be tackled by the central government and perhaps the private sector," Mr. Anderson noted.
CRIME AND GARBAGE
COLLECTION
In the June 19 Local Government Elections, the JLP won 11 Parish Councils and the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC), while the governing PNP took Westmoreland and the Portmore Municipality. Both parties won 11 divisions each in Clarendon.
The poll, which involved interviews with 1,000 persons 18 years old and over across all parishes, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 per cent, found that crime and garbage collection are other issues which people would like to see addressed by the Parish Councils and the KSAC.
But, although there is a level of expectation, Mr. Anderson pointed out that people at the community level are not altogether convinced that the Parish Councils will be able to successfully tackle their major concerns.
In analysing the results, the pollster said: "It is clear that the people recognise the role that the Councils can play but not all are convinced that they will be able to execute.
LEVEL OF CONVICTION
"The level of conviction by parish is interesting to note. The view is strongly held in St. Ann (81 per cent), Portmore (72 per cent) and in St. Mary (71 per cent), that the Council there will be able to carry out the tasks at hand.
"In Kingston and St. Andrew, however, where the Mayor has perhaps been the busiest of the lot, more persons (35 per cent) are convinced that the tasks will not be carried out, than the 29.7 per cent who feel that they will be."
According to Mr. Anderson, a further cross-tabulation of the information (type of problem by degree of success in tackling them), revealed that only in the area of bad roads do more people feel that the Councils will be successful, than those who feel they will not. "More people, in other words, are convinced that the Councils will not be able to tackle the problems of unemployment, crime and garbage collection."
Those who feel the JLP-dominated Parish Councils will be able to solve the problems cite two main reasons for this position. In the first place, 43 per cent believe they have the drive to deal with the problems while another 36 per cent feel that they will get the financial resources to deal with the issues. "Those who feel they will not be able to do the job indicate that the Councils are not properly equipped, that they have a record of poor fund management and that they are not now doing their job," said the pollster.
TOMORROW: When will Prime Minister P.J. Patterson and Opposition Leader, Edward Seaga leave representative politics?
