In an address to the nation in January, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar assured citizens that the People’s Partnership Government would guide T&T safely through the turbulent economic times. Persad-Bissessar gave the commitment while addressing the nation on the state of the economy, in the light of growing turbulence in the global energy sector and the impact of lower oil prices. Since assuming office in 2010, Persad-Bissessar said, her Government had reversed economic decline, brought stability, and restored confidence in the economy.
The PM said the challenges experienced in the economy tested our reforms, strength and resilience, and she gave the assurance that her Government would bring T&T safely through. Further, the macroeconomic indicators by which we measure our economic strength as a regional leader and global player are far better than those we inherited in 2010, Persad-Bissessar said, and our unemployment remained historically low at 3.6 per cent. At the end of December 2014, Persad-Bissessar said, our foreign reserves stood at $73 billion.
She said the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund stood at $35 billion and new investment in the energy sector was projected in 2015 to be well over $2 billion. Persad-Bissessar also stated that last December, Standard and Poor’s reaffirmed T&T’s “A” credit rating, with a stable outlook for the economy. In moving forward, Persad-Bissessar said, there were areas in which the Government must redirect its spending in order to manage the present state of the economy.
In a recent survey, respondents were asked how satisfied they were with the Government’s management of the economy. Sixty per cent of respondents indicated they were not satisfied, 34 per cent indicated they were satisfied, and six per cent responded “Don’t know.” These were the findings of a T&T Guardian poll conducted and supervised by Prof Derek Chadee, director of the ANSA McAL Psychological Research Centre, University of the West Indies, St Augustine.
The poll, a nationwide survey held from January 29 to February 3, interviewed 507 respondents over the age of 18 selected by a random digit dialling method. The intention of the survey was to assess popular opinion on a number of major issues. Overall, the sample consisted of 35 per cent Afro-Trinidadians, 39 per cent Indo-Trinidadians, 25 per cent Mixed race citizens and one per cent other groups. Of the sample, 53 per cent were females. The margin of error is plus or minus four per cent.
Sixty per cent of respondents indicated that they were not satisfied with the Government’s management of the economy. Precisely, 16 per cent reported that they were “totally unsatisfied,” 44 per cent “unsatisfied,” 31 per cent “satisfied,” and three per cent “totally satisfied.” For the analyses that follow, response categories “totally unsatisfied” and “unsatisfied” were re-coded into a single category, “unsatisfied.” “Totally satisfied” and “satisfied” were re-coded into the category “satisfied.”
Analysing responses by ethnicity showed that Afro-Trinidadians were most likely to be “unsatisfied” and Indo-Trinidadians most likely to be “satisfied” with the Government’s management of the economy. Specifically, 74 per cent of Afro-Trinidadians, 71 per cent Mixed race citizens and 40 per cent Indo-Trinidadians stated that they were “unsatisfied”—a 34 per cent difference between Afro-Trinidadians and Indo-Trinidadians.
Fifty-four of Indo-Trinidadians were most likely to state that they were “satisfied” with the Government’s management of the economy, whereas 24 per cent of Mixed race persons and 18 per cent of Afro-Trinidadians also gave this response—a 36 per cent difference between Indo-Trinidadians and Afro-Trinidadians.
Examining responses by sex showed little difference in satisfaction between males and females. Specifically, 60 per cent of females and 59 per cent of males indicated that they were “unsatisfied.” Thirty-six per cent of males and 33 per cent of females responded that they were “satisfied.” Analysing responses by education revealed a similarity in responses among people of various educational backgrounds.
Specifically, 60 per cent secondary, 60 per cent technical/vocational, 59 per cent per cent tertiary, and 57 per cent primary educated persons expressed that they were “unsatisfied” with the government’s management of the economy. Thirty-six per cent of those with technical/vocational education indicated they were “satisfied,” as did 36 per cent of those with tertiary education, 34 per cent with primary, and 33 per cent with secondary education.
How satisfied are you with the Government’s management of the economy?
Totally unsatisfied 16 per cent
Unsatisfied 44 per cent
Satisfied 31 per cent
Totally satisfied 3 per cent
Don’t know 6 per cent