Dear Editor,
A poll conducted by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association in Trinidad finds that Opposition leader Basdeo Panday is extremely unpopular among voters who want him to step down as Leader of the Opposition Indian-based UNC. Panday has very little support as leader of the UNC and as a representative of his constituency. The poll finds that Health Minister Jerry Narace is the most effective minister of the government while football promoter and FIFA Vice-President Jack Warner is the most effective representative among the country’s 41 parliamentarians.
Warner is rated as the most effective people’s representative, not least because of his willingness to dip into his own pockets to assist his constituents.
His UNC dissident colleague, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, is believed to be the most effective opposition politician. However, their fellow UNC-A colleagues are heavily criticized for not even being seen in their constituencies for months.
These individuals came up trumps in the NACTA poll which was conducted by Vishnu Bisram. The poll interviewed 670 individuals throughout T&T, and asked them who they would rate as the most effective government minister. The Health Minister emerged as the most favoured minister, getting the nod from 21 per cent of the respondents.
He was followed by Works and Transport Minister Colm Imbert (17 per cent), Social Development Minister, Amery Browne (12 per cent), Local Government Minister Hazel Manning (nine per cent) and Energy Minister Conrad Enill (seven per cent).
With regards to Warner, the Nacta report declared: “Voters from both sides of the political divide say Warner gets things done for his constituents,” even if it means spending his personal funds to address their concerns. “Almost every resident of Chaguanas West says Warner has been the best representative to ever serve them…”
Maharaj was found to be the most effective opposition politician, leading with 22 per cent, followed by Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar, with 19 per cent. Significantly, Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday scored only 12 per cent with a majority of his constituents complaining they have not seen him for the 32 years he has been their representative. Voters say Bas has served his time and should step aside and give younger people an opportunity to rise.
Of note, too, respondents were very critical of opposition representation, barring Maharaj and Warner. There is a very high level of dissatisfaction of representation in all of the other 13 opposition-controlled constituencies, with voters saying since the election (November, 2007) they hardly saw their MPs.
The poll finds the UNC continuing to haemorrage with the infighting (Warner and Maharaj, dubbed Ramjack, versus Panday) with voters wanting Panday to step down to allow for young blood. The Ramjack team has been calling for free and fair internal elections to choose a new executive, but Panday continues to resist calls for his resignation and for holding elections to choose a leader. The poll determines that unless Panday steps aside and allows for new leadership, the opposition has no chance of winning an election, the poll finds.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
