Monrovia – NAYMOTE Partners for Democratic Development has released a 2019 survey report on citizens’ perception on the quality of Governance in Liberia.
The survey report was released on Wednesday, November 20 at its national office in Congo Town.
The survey is the sixth perception survey report to be launched by NAYMOTE in the country. According to the report, most Liberians believe that the country is heading in the wrong direction due to poor governance.
“The survey targeted a sample size of 3,600 (women 47% and men 53%) registered voters from across 46 electoral districts within the 15 counties, which is a statistical representation of citizens’ views across the country. Of the total sample respondents, 58% of respondents were between the ages of 18-35, this means that younger people mostly participated in the survey.”
The Report continues: “Overall, 82% of the respondents think the country is going or somehow going in the wrong direction while 15% think the country is going or somehow going in the right direction. In the 2018 survey findings, 64% of respondents said the country was going in the wrong direction. The current percent (82%) represents a sharp increase in negative perceptions of the management and governance of the country.”
According to the report, the survey was conducted using mobile phones and Google forms to collect and analyze the data collected from a mobile phone contact database Phone bank) of over 9,235 registered voter within the 46 electoral district across the country.
It further revealed that 89% of the citizenry described the current economic conditions in the country as very poor or poor, as compared to 70% who described it as very poor or poor in the 2018 survey report.
Meanwhile, the report also revealed that there is a sharp reduction in citizens’ level of satisfaction with the quality of democracy in the country.
“57% of the respondents said they are very satisfied or satisfied with the way democracy is working I the country, 40% said they not satisfied while 3% said they don’t know. In 2018 survey report, 80% of the respondents said they were very satisfied or satisfied with the way democracy was working in the country,” according to the report.
The report also mentioned that the level of engagement between legislators and their constituents is weak.
“Overall, 82% of the respondents think the country is going or somehow going in the wrong direction while 15% think the country is going or somehow going in the right direction. In the 2018 survey findings, 64% of respondents said the country was going in the wrong direction. The current percent (82%) represents a sharp increase in negative perceptions of the management and governance of the country.”
– Eddie Jarwolo, Executive Director, NAYMOTE
“Seventy-five percent (75%) of the respondents said they have not attended any event in their district organized by their lawmakers since January 2018. Despite limited engagement with citizens, most survey respondents were satisfied with Opposition legislators’ and opposition political leaders’ ability to hold the government accountable on commitment to service delivery,” the report added.
Weighing on the security sectors, the survey revealed that citizens trust in the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) and the Liberia National Police (LNP) have drastically decreased compare to the 2018 survey report while the citizens’ confidence rate in the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency have increased.
“Trust in the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) has decreased .Whereas, 93% of respondents in the 2018 survey who rated the AFL as the most trusted security institution only 78% of the respondents I this survey rated the AFL as the most trusted or fairly trusted security agency in Liberia. Trust in the Liberia National Police (LNP) has decreased.”
In the 2018 survey, 75% of respondents rated the LNP as trusted or fairly trusted security institution in Liberia. In 2019 survey, 56% said they trust and fairly trust the LNP while 43% said they don’t trust the LNP and one percent f the respondents don’t know.”
At the same time, mistrust of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) has decreased. In the 2018 report, 72% of the respondents said they did not trust the LDEA as compared to 57% of respondents in this survey,” the report mentioned.
Addressing journalists at the launched of the report, the Executive Director of NAYMOTE, Eddie Jarwolo said the findings show a negative trajectory of citizens’ views and perception about the quality of governance in the country.
Jarwolo said if the current governance system of the country is not overturn, the negative trend has the potential to further weaken the country.
He added that the survey is a clear manifestation that the citizens do not the State institution anymore.
“This is unhealthy for a fragile State like Liberia because fragility is a sign of vulnerability to instability and the potential for violence. Without addressing the issues described in this report, forms of inequalities will be reinforced and heightened,” Jarwolo added.
He also cautioned the Legislature to develop a comprehensive program for constituencies’ engagement to create the opportunity and platform for dialogue.
Jarwolo recommended that Executive branch of government needs to development fiscal and monetary policies to address the negative trend of the economy to curb the high rate of inflation, unemployment among others.
However, he urged opposition political parties to continue their constructive engagement with the government, holding it to account but also provide a policy plan to address the underlying causes confronting the country.