More Jamaicans say they now have less confidence in the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) compared with those who feel the same way about the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) because of the highly controversial Trafigura affair, the latest Stone Poll has shown.

But surprisingly, the Stone survey found that of the 1,473 voters polled between October 21 and 25, a total 20.7 per cent said the Trafigura affair had left them with less confidence in both political parties.

“.The effect of Trafigura appears to be more a loss of confidence in the political parties (particularly PNP), than in their associated leaders,” said the Stone Polling Organisation.

“When asked whether they had more or less confidence in the two political parties, 20.7 per cent said they had “less confidence” in both parties, 24.3 per cent said that they had “less confidence” in the PNP, while 16.8 per cent said they had “less confidence” in the JLP as a result of the Trafigura affair,” said the poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus three per cent.

“The “more confidence” ratings were much lower, but of those, twice as many people said they had “more confidence” in the JLP than the PNP as a result of the incident,” added Stone.

But stone concluded that: “There is no doubt that, overall, the JLP has come out of the Trafigura incident looking much better than the PNP.”

The Government has been coming under heavy flak since October 3 when the Opposition revealed that the PNP had accepted a $31-million donation from Trafigura Beheer, the Dutch firm that lifts and sells Nigerian-supplied crude on the world market for Jamaica.

The PNP has consistently insisted that its dealings with Trafigura were above board and had said that the money was an election campaign donation. It also said that the account to which the money was transferred – CCOC Association – was used by the party for campaign funds.

It turned out that the account was opened in 1992 to hold campaign funds for former PNP general-secretary Colin Campbell when he first entered representational politics and that the letters CCOC stood for Colin Campbell Our Candidate.

Campbell, who emerged as the party and government official at the centre of the affair, resigned as PNP general-secretary and as information and development minister on October 9, admitting that he had not fully informed senior officers of the party about the transaction. His resignation also came after Trafigura claimed that the money was payment on a commercial arrangement.

Since then, PNP President and Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has ordered the money returned to Trafigura.

However, that has done little to quell the debate, which has also focused on a breach of bank/customer confidentiality, given that the Opposition was able to wave copies of cheques when it publicised the affair.

In fact, in the Stone Poll results published in yesterday’s Observer, the majority of voters (20.1 per cent) questioned said they thought the person who breached bank/customer confidentiality had done the most harm to the country during the course of the Trafigura affair.

A total of 16.7 per cent said Campbell had done most harm, while 14 per cent said Golding and 7.4 per cent pointed to Simpson Miller.

Stone Poll Team

. Dr Ian Boxill is a professor of comparative sociology at the UWI, a specialist in opinion and survey research and the Stone Poll Team leader.

. Dr Lawrence Alfred Powell (PhD MIT) is senior lecturer in methodology in the Department of Government, at the UWI. His specialisations include cross-cultural survey research, political psychology and media politics.

. Roy Russell is a statistician and survey researcher who lectures in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work.

. Dr Lloyd Waller is a lecturer in the Department of Government, UWI, where he specialises in research methodology and Information and Communication Technology for Development.

. Arlene Bailey is an information systems specialist in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work, who is involved in survey research.

. Wyvolyn Gager, supervisor; Rosemarie Stone, consultant; and an experienced force of field researchers.