PORTIA SIMPSON Miller, Minister of Local Government, Community Development and Sport, tops the list of best performing ministers in the latest Gleaner/Don Anderson poll.
Over 31 per cent of persons polled believe that Mrs. Simpson Miller occupied pole position in the hierarchy of Cabinet ministers. Ministers Aloun N'dombet Assamba and Maxine Henry-Wilson finished second and third respectively, completing a clean sweep for female Cabinet ministers of the top three positions in terms of perceived ministerial performance.
This was one of the major findings of a poll conducted on behalf of the newspaper by Don Anderson and his team from Market Research Services Limited (MRSL). The poll was conducted over the period February 28 to March 20 and involved interviews among a nationally representative sample of 1,000 persons islandwide. The sample error was plus or minus 3.1 per cent.
Close to one-third of all persons interviewed expressed the view that Simpson Miller was the minister who was performing best of all. This was a perception that was reflected equally by persons in all the demographic groups. The Minister enjoyed strong support in rural parishes such as Westmoreland (68 per cent) and in St. Thomas (48 per cent), where persons polled believed that she was ahead of the rest of the Cabinet based on performance.
Aloun Assamba, the Industry and Tourism Minister, was the second best rated minister. Over 12 per cent felt that she was doing the best job of all the ministers. Mrs. Assamba also enjoyed a great approval rating in rural parishes, most significantly from St. Ann where she is a sitting MP. There, a robust 31 per cent of those polled expressed this view. She also gained favourable support from persons in St. Mary, Clarendon and Portland. From a socio-economic perspective, close to 20 per cent of all persons in the upper income categories feel that Assamba is the best of the ministers.
According to The Gleaner/Don Anderson poll, Maxine Henry-Wilson is the third ranked minister on the basis of performance based on her 11 per cent approval rating. She got her strongest support from persons polled in St. Elizabeth.
ALL WOMEN
It is interesting to note that the top three performing ministers were all women. Further, powerful figures such as People's National Party vice-president and Security Minister Dr. Peter Phillips came in a disappointing fourth with just eight per cent naming him as the best performing minister.
Interestingly, a Gleaner/Don Anderson poll conducted in 2002 found that Simpson Miller, the then Tourism and Sport Minister, was viewed by 32.1 per cent of respondents as having done the best job among all ministers. She was followed by National Security Minister Dr. Peter Phillips, who 15.4 per cent of respondents felt was the best Minister. This year's poll results represent an almost 100 per cent fall in his support in only two years.
