President Akufo-Addo
As the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections draw nigh, a pre-election survey by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has revealed that the governing New Patriotic Party’s second term victory looks more certain than the return of the opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC) to power.
Meanwhile, a whopping 68 per cent of the respondents gave popular approval to the performance of the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Jean Mensa.
The EC Chairperson’s approval rating is just about two percentage points down that of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who had about 70 per cent of the respondents approving his performance.
According to a report from the CDD survey, the NPP enjoys a significant advantage over the opposition NDC when it comes to public confidence in the ability to deliver on campaign promises, placing the governing party at a 15-percentage point over the NDC.
The report adds that an assessment of the Akufo-Addo-led NPP government is broadly positive, giving it particularly high grades for the handling of the Covid-19 crises, electricity and education.
About 31 per cent of Ghanaians perceive differences between NPP and NDC when it comes to their respective performance, focusing on development policies and, to a lesser extent, honesty and integrity.
It further notes that there is a 11-percentage point difference between Ghanaians who believe NPP campaign promises are more realistic than the NDC.
Economic management
Although 47 per cent of the respondents said the economy is moving in the right direction, the same number thinks otherwise.
But this, compared to the 70 per cent who said in July 2016, and the 68 per cent who said in October 2016 that the economy under Mahama was going in the wrong direction, means the NPP government has an upper hand when it comes to economic management, according to the report.
Apart from most respondents being positive about the future, about 50 per cent do not perceive that the economic situation is worse than it was 12 months ago.
“The majority of respondents are optimistic about the future. 69% believe it will get even better in the next 12 months. Only 8% perceive it will get worse,” says the report.
“… Less than 30% of respondents have gone without food and water several times in the last 12 months. 16% have ever had fuel shortage. Over 70% of respondents confirm they have enough food to eat, adequate healthcare and water,” it adds.
Though there have been concerns about the security situation in the country of late, the survey indicates that only five per cent of the respondents perceive crime and security to be an issue.
“This is contrary to the popular hype on the low level of security being discussed. It also speaks to the fact that the security issues are isolated and may be linked to specific happenings and incidences,” says the report.
Unemployment
According CDD, the demand for more jobs is consonant with the government’s decision to create more employment opportunities under policies pursued in the last four years.
“The rating for unemployment also indicates there could have been more jobs lost from the COVID and this needs an independent investigation. Job security is seen as unemployment by most people. There is the underlying recognition that job security may also have been threatened by the COVID situation,” the report states.
The NPP government, according to respondents, has done fairly well in addressing concerns in education and health, as only 28 per cent and 21 per cent of respondents see education and health, respectively, as issues of concern.
According to the report, the percentage of respondents concerned with growing inequalities has fallen (now 57 per cent), compared to the 69 per cent and 65 per cent in July and October 2016 respectively.
Covid-19
Government was also commended for its management of the Covid-19.
“Government scores high (84%) in the management of COVID. Social service delivery is positive and up to 75% of respondents rate governments performance as good. Lowest percentage rating is in fighting corruption. Even then 50% rate government as good in tackling,” says the report.
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