This morning SPEAR held a press conference to disclose the findings of a poll which conducted over the weekend. 414 persons were polled by telephone countrywide. They were asked 5 questions directly about the government guarantee and two more about the Musa administration's continued viability. SPEAR's programme director Gus Pererra outlined the findings.
Gus Pererra, Programme Director - SPEAR
"Do you agree or disagree that the Prime Minister should have gone to the National Assembly with a Bill to approve the UHS loan guarantee? 73.1% agree that he should have gone to the National Assembly. 16.9% did not agree and 5.6% did not have an opinion and 4.4% did not know.
Do you agree or disagree that the Prime Minister should have first obtained Cabinet's support for a Bill to approve the loan guarantee before signing it? 82.8% agreed that the Prime Minister should have obtained Cabinet's support for a bill; 10.9% did not agree; 5.9% did not have an opinion and 1.2% did not know.
Do you agree or disagree that the Prime Minister should have informed Belizeans about his intention to sign the Universal Health Services loan guarantee for $33 million? 87.1% of the respondents felt that there was an obligation of disclosure on the Prime Minister to inform Belizeans about the intention to sign the guarantee.
Question four, do you agree or disagree that Belizeans taxpayers should pay for the Universal Health Services debt to the Belize Bank. As you can see, 85.3% disagree that Belizean taxpayers should be made to pay the debt that is owed to the Belize Bank.
Whom do you say should take full responsibility for the signing of the Universal Health Services loan guarantee, the burden of responsibility? Here 31% felt that the Prime Minister and his Cabinet should take responsibility; 22.2% said the Public Finance Committee should take the responsibility; and 38.2% felt that the Prime Minister only should take full responsibility."
And while the poll showed public opinion overwhelmingly against the Universal guarantee - the last two questions spoke to the political viability of the Musa administration.
Gus Pererra,
"How do you rate your present level of confidence in this government? 52.4% have no confidence; 34.5% have low confidence; 9.9% had high confidence. The final question, do you agree or disagree that the Prime Minister should call general elections now? 68.9% agree that elections should be called now; 19.4% disagree."
But Pererra accepts that many in the PUP and the Musa administration will reject the findings of the poll. He says feel free to disagree.
Gus Pererra,
"I guess that's a call that the leadership should make. We feel Jules that the onus is not on us really to defend the integrity of our poll. We feel it is something we have been doing, we feel that what we are providing here is a good compass, a leadership compass and that who wants to pay it any mind or doesn't feel they have to pay it any mind, it is a call that they would make."
The poll has a plus or minus 5% margin of error.So to go over the principal findings:
- 87% of the respondents said that the Prime Minister should have informed Belizeans before he signed the Universal guarantee.
- Similarly 85% said that taxpayers should not have to pay the Universal debt
- And a withering 87% said they have no or low confidence in the government.
- 69% of the respondents said that the Prime Minister should call elections now
