body-container-line-1
17.10.2012 Politics

MPs Don't Listen To Electorate - CDD Survey

17.10.2012 LISTEN
By Justice Baidoo - Daily Graphic

Majority of Ghanaians feel their Members of Parliament do not listen to their most pressing needs, a study by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD) has shown.

According to the Afrobarometer Round 5 survey conducted by the CDD, 85 per cent of Ghanaians said their parliamentarians do not listen to their needs.

It also reported 77 per cent of people as saying local council authorities never listen to their most pressing needs.

Giving details of the survey at a meeting in Accra today on Tuesday, the Outreach Coordinator of the Afrobarometer programme, Ms Kathleen Addy said the perceptions that MPs and local councilors “never or only sometimes” listen to the people they represent, increased by 24 per cent and 23per cent points respectively between 2002 and 2012.

She said a majority of Ghanaians who were sampled, said they were not going to contact their Member of Parliament and local council representative on any national issue because of the level of confidence they reposed in them.

In contrast, perceptions that MPs and local councilors “often or always” listen to ordinary people declined by 16 per cent and 17 per cent respectively in the same period, she said.

Other aspects of the survey said a majority (63 per cent) of Ghanaians perceived the country’s economic conditions as “very bad” and “bad”.

It however indicated about a third (30 per cent) describes the country’s economic conditions as “very good” and “good”.

According to the report, the perceptions of the country’s economy as “very bad or bad” increased by 18 per cent between 2008 and 2012.

However, a large minority opinion from the survey indicated that a large minority (42 per cent) rate national economic conditions as “much better” or “better” than 12 months ago.

It further reveals that majority 73 per cent of Ghanaians expect the country’s economic condition to improve in the coming year.

The number of people who believe the country’s economic conditions were better had increased by 6 per cent from 2002 to 2012.

The afrobarometer is a comparative series of public attitude surveys, covering up to 35 African countries. It measures public attitudes on democracy and its alternatives, evaluations of the quality of governance and economic performance.

The field work for the round five, according to the CDD, was conducted in Ghana in May and June of 2012. It interviewed 2400 adult

Ghanaians aged between 18 and 100 with a margin of error of +/- 2 per cent at a 95 per cent confidence level.

The Executive Director of the CDD, Prof Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi said it was important for the government and policy makers to take some of these reports very seriously as they were feedback from the ordinary people.

The report focused on central government economic management ratings, opinions on personal security, opinions on political party “foot soldier” phenomenon, the management of oil revenues among others.

He was quick to add that the report had no connections with electoral polls. According to him, the finding do not necessarily have any impact of the upcoming elections, stressing that it was just by confidence that the report had to be released less than eight weeks before

the December, 2012 elections.
This article also appeared in print on Wednesday October 17, 2012 edition of Daily Graphic

body-container-line