Timor Tatoli Survey November 2014 The Support for Good Public Policy Program Timor-Leste
Timor Tatoli Survey November 2014 INTRODUCTION In November 2014, The Asia Foundation in partnership with NGO Belun, conducted its fourth national Timor Tatoli public opinion poll, interviewing 1,020 adults across all 13 districts of Timor-Leste. Respondents were selected at random - regardless of status or education. This bi-annual opinion poll provides a snapshot of national perceptions towards important issues including the performance of the government, the conditions in people s local areas, and people s optimism for the future. By measuring the pulse of the country every six months, this opinion poll provides valuable insights into the priorities and sentiments of the general public in Timor-Leste. METHODOLOGY This public opinion poll was conducted in 129 randomly-selected aldeia (sub-villages) in all 13 districts of Timor-Leste. A target of eight face-to-face interviews were completed in each aldeia. Interviewers recorded responses on tablet computers using a data collection tablet interface, called Open Data Kit (ODK). Aldeia were selected using a multistage, stratified random selection process using probability proportional to size. Quality control was conducted electronically through use of an online, cloud-based data aggregator, Formhub, which enabled Foundation staff to monitor data submissions in real time and assess the quality of the interviews remotely. In addition, interviews were cross-checked by phone and in the field. Data collection for the November 2014 opinion poll commenced on 10 November and concluded on 3 December 2014. A total of 1,020 respondents over the age of 17 were interviewed from a national population of 575,878 individuals over the age of 17 (from the 2010 national census). This survey yields a maximum margin of error of ± at 9 confidence level, 50% interval. Analyses of sub-groups such as districts, gender, and other demographics yield higher margin of error. Non-sampling error were prevented but may have occurred. OVERALL PROGRESS Seventy-three percent of respondents believe Timor-Leste is going in the right direction with 2 believe it to be going in the wrong direction 1. Young people (aged 17-24 and 25-34) were more likely to say that the country is going in the right direction (80% and 7 respectively). The response from each district varied; Manufahi (9), Oecusse (8), and Baucau (5) had the highest proportion of respondents to state that Timor-Leste was headed in the wrong direction. 1 The option to select some in the right direction, some in the wrong direction was removed from the 2014 November Timor Tatoli survey to comply with international common practice for political polling..
Generally speaking, do you think things on Timor-Leste today are going in the right direction, or do you think they are going in the wrong direction? Don't Know, Wrong Direction, 2 Right Direction, 7 GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE The majority of respondents believe that the government is doing a good or very good job (90%, up 9% from March 2014), including 2 who said very good and 6 who said somewhat good. Responses did not differ greatly between genders: 89% of male respondents had a favorable view of the government, compared with 90% of female respondents. Respondents living in urban areas were more likely to have a favorable view of the government s performance (9 saying either somewhat good or very good ) compared to those living in rural areas (8 either somewhat good or good). Respondents from Manufahi and Oecusse districts were least satisfied with the way the government was carrying out their responsibilities, with 89% and 2 respectively selecting somewhat bad or very bad. Thinking of the government, how do you feel about the way they are carrying out their responsibilities? Are they doing a good job, somewhat good job, somewhat bad job, or a very bad job? Don't Know, 1% Very Bad, Very Good, 2 Somewhat Bad, Somewhat Good, 6
INFLUENCE ON GOVERNMENT Sixty-seven percent of respondents believe the government hears and considers their views (up since March 2014), with 1 saying the government does this a lot and 51% saying somewhat. In contrast, 30% of respondents believe the government does not consider or very little consideration of their views (down from March 2014). Rural respondents were more likely to indicate that the government hears their views a lot (1), compared with urban respondents (9%). How much do you think the government hears and considers your views? Don't Know, None at all, A Lot, 1 Very Little, 1 Some, 51% SERVICE DELIVERY AND SATISFACTION Top Issues Respondents were asked to identify what issues of concern they would share if they met the country s political leaders. The majority of respondents identified clean water (6) and roads (5) to be the major issues. If you could meet the country s top leaders, what issues would you want to express to them? 6 5 2 1 1 Clean Water Roads Housing Education Health Other Agriculture Electricity Corruption Local Product
Institution Recognition and Approval Ratings Respondents were asked whether they have heard of different institutional bodies, and if they had, how they rated their performance in ensuring the welfare of the people of Timor-Leste. The F-FDTL (8), Police (8), and national NGOs (71%) were the highest-ranking institutions that are doing a very good or good job at ensuring the peoples welfare. Have you heard of these institutions? If you have, please rate whether you think the institution is doing a very good, good, poor or very poor job in ensuring people s welfare in Timor-Leste? KAK 3 30% 2 Ombudsman 4 1 2 INGO 1 50% National NGO 61% Media 4 2 2 CoM 51% 1 2 Office of the PM 1 5 1 Office of the President 5 1 District Court 5 1 National Court 5 1 FFDTL 7 Police 7 Suku Council 59% 2 Parliament 4 2 Very Good Good Poor Very Poor Don't Know or Refused Never Heard Consumption and Satisfaction with Services Respondents were asked whether they accessed or consumed specific government services in their subdistrict and their rating of the particular service. Police and healthcare services received the highest ratings, with 80% of respondents saying police services are very good or good, and 7 of respondents saying healthcare, clinics and Integrated Community Health Services (SISCA) were very good or good. In contrast, 81% of respondents believed that the quality of roads was poor or bad. When asked whether respondents had access to sanitation, 4 reported that they did not, and of the remaining 5 of respondents, the majority rated sanitation to be poor or bad. Fifty-nine per cent of respondents surveyed worked either on their own farm or on another farm, while less than half (49%) had access to fertilizers for agriculture.
Have you or someone in your household accessed or consumed these services? If yes, do you think the quality of the service is very good, good, poor, or very poor? Population Administration Birth / Marriage Certificate Churches Seeds Fertilizer Healthcare / Clinics / SISCa Police Service Electricity Roads Markets Sanitation Secondary School Primary School Clean Water 3 20% 2 1 5 6 1 4 3 2 30% 1 51% 6 1 70% 1 3 20% 4 39% 4 1 2 4 2 51% 3 2 4 1 Very Good Good Poor Very Poor Don't Know Not accessed Aspects of life in Timor-Leste When asked to rate several aspects of life in Timor-Leste, the majority of respondents identified relations between people in their suku (village) and suku security to be the most positive (80% of respondents selected very good or good ). All respondents from Ainaro and Aileu were satisfied with their district security, with 100% selecting very good or good ; however, only 5 of respondents from Dili and 4 from Oecusse rated their district security to be very good or good. Less than half the respondents were satisfied with their family, district, and national economy, as well as public policies within Timor-Leste.
Now I am going to read you several aspects of life in Timor-Leste. After each one, please tell me whether you think each aspect of life has been very good, good, poor, or very poor in the last 6 months. National Economy 4 3 1 District's Economy 4 Family Economy 3 5 Health 6 2 Education 6 2 Public Policies 3 Suku Security 6 District Security 71% 1 Relations between people in the Suku 6 1 Justice 5 31% Very Good Good Poor Very Poor Don't Know or Refused Service Delivery Economy When asked about different economic aspects of the respondents respective sub-district, respondents rated the price of basic staples to be the poorest, with only 2 selecting good or very good. Other economic aspects were rated higher, such as job opportunities and development of businesses/stores with 50% good or very good. With the exception of availability of basic staples, rural respondents were more likely to rate every aspect less favorably than urban respondents. Now I am going to ask your opinion about several aspects of the Economy in your sub-district. After each one, please tell me whether you think that economic aspect has been very good, good, poor, or very poor in the last 6 months. Availability of basic staples 4 4 Price of basic staples 2 6 Your family's income 3 5 Job opportunities 4 Development of businesses/stores 50% Opportunities to make money/do business 4 4 Very Good Good Poor Very Poor Don't know or refused
Health A large proportion of health aspects were rated highly, such doctors and nurse services and SISCa services, with 8 and 8 of respondents rating it as very good or good. Perception of the availability and price of medicines varies across locality. Segregating respondents by district, 100% of respondents from Ainaro and Manatuto rated availability of medicines to be very good or good, contrasting with Liquica (5), Lautem (6), and Viqueque (6) who ranked the lowest. In regards to price of medicines, 100% of respondents from Aileu believed it to be very good or good followed by 9 of respondents from Bobonaro and Viqueque. In contrast, only of respondents from Ainaro rated the price to be very good or good. Let's continue with aspects relating to Health in your sub-district. After each one, please tell me whether you think that aspect of health has been very good, good, poor, or very poor in the last 6 months. Price of medicines 1 5 Availability of medicines 6 1 Price of Doctor/Nurse services 1 59% Doctor/Nurse services 1 70% 1 SISCa services 70% Health clinic buildings 9% 51% 3 Very Good Good Poor Very Poor Don't know or refused Education Respondents were asked to rate different aspects of the education sector, with teaching in Tetum rated highest (90% very good or good ) followed by teaching in Portuguese (8 very good or good ). School buildings and facilities were rated the lowest, with 4 selecting poor or very poor. Urban respondents were more likely to rate specific aspects of education higher than rural respondents, such as school buildings and facilities (6 answered very good or good compared with 51% of rural respondents), curriculum (7 answered very good or good compared with 61% of rural respondents), and extra-curricular activities (7 answered very good or good compared with 5 of rural respondents).
Let's continue with aspects relating to Education in your sub-district. After each one, please tell me whether you think that aspect of education has been very good, good, poor, or very poor in the last 6 months? Teaching in Portuguese 2 59% Teaching in Tetum 3 5 9% Cost of Education 2 5 1 Extracurricula activity 5 2 Curriculum 6 Books and teaching materials 61% 2 Teacher quality 6 2 Teacher attendance 6 2 School buildings and facilities 50% Very Good Good Poor Very Poor Don't know or refused Security Sixty-one percent of respondents believed that domestic violence has decreased or decreased a lot within the last six months. Slight differences were found between genders: females were more likely to indicate that domestic violence had increased () compared to males (). Respondents from Dili were more likely to identify crime (30% compared to of rural respondents) and land disputes (4 compared to 20% of rural respondents) to have increased in the last six months. Let's continue with aspects relating to Security in your sub-district. After each one, please tell me whether you think that aspect of security has been increased, decreased, or decreased a lot in the last 6 months? Land disputes/grabbing 1 3 2 2 Excessive use of force by police 20% 59% Gang violence 2 5 Drug abuse 71% Traffic violations 1 2 4 Domestic violence 4 9% Crime 1 3 3 Decreased a lot Decreased Increased None Don't know or refused
Agriculture When asked to rate different aspects of agriculture in the respondents sub-district, availability of seeds and availability of government-hired agricultural trainers ranked the highest, with 5 and 4 indicating that it was very good or good in the last six months. With the exception of availability of seeds, rural respondents were more likely to rate each agricultural aspect less favorably than urban respondents. In particular, respondents from Manufahi were least satisfied with agriculture in their subdistrict; less than of respondents rated each factor to be very good or good. Let's continue with aspects relating to Agriculture in your sub-district. After each one, please tell me whether you think that aspect of agriculture has been very good, good, poor, or very poor in the last 6 months? Availability of seeds 51% 3 Availability of extensions 4 31% 9% Quality of extensions 3 Availability of tractors 3 31% 1 Price of crops 3 4 Availability of fertilizers 2 3 1 20% Irrigation 2 3 30% Very Good Good Poor Very Poor Don't know or refused Infrastructure Ninety-four percent of respondents indicated that the district to suku roads were poor or bad in the last six months. Similarly, building of markets, bridge development, inter-district roads, and building of bus and mikrolet terminals were rated poorly, with over 60% of respondents selecting poor or bad. Respondents living in urban areas were more likely to rate each infrastructure aspect as very good or good than rural respondents.
Let's continue with aspects relating to Infrastructure in your sub-district. After each one, please tell me whether you think that aspect of infrastructure has been very good, good, poor, or very poor in the last 6 months? Building of Suku Offices Building of Government Offices Building of markets Bridge development Inter-districts roads Building of bus/mikrolet terminal District to Suku roads 2 20% 6 5 3 5 3 3 2 5 1 Very Good Good Poor Very Poor Don't know or refused Social Respondents were asked their opinion of the prevalence of specific social issues in their sub-district over the last six months. Thirty-six percent of respondents indicated that the prevalence of hunger was high or very high, followed by 3 identifying corruption. Although human trafficking, prostitution, and illegal groups are considered to be of low prevalence, the majority of respondents who selected high or very high were from Dili. I m now going to ask your opinion about several social issues which may occur in your sub-district. After each one, please tell me whether you think the prevalence of that social issue has been very high, high, low, or very low in the last 6 months. Human Trafficking Youth Violence Illegal Groups Prostitution Domestic Violence Youth Drinking Gambling Hunger Corruption 3 1 9% 1 2 39% 4 3 7 1 60% 7 1 1 3 3 1 Very High High Low Very Low None Don't know or refused Areas of improvement Faced with a choice between access to water, education, healthcare, roads, or agriculture, of respondents identified access to water as the area that most needs to be improved (up since March 2014). Thirty-six percent of respondents selected improving roads to be their highest priority (down
since March 2014), followed by education () and healthcare (). The highest priority for rural respondents is improving access to water (4), whilst the highest priority for urban respondents is improving roads (3). Of the following issues, which do you think most needs to be improved in this area? 4 3 3 0% 1% Access to water Roads Education Agriculture Healthcare Don't Know November 2014 March 2014 Economic situation The majority of respondents believe that their economic situation in their household is a little better compared to two years ago () 2. There was a higher proportion of urban respondents (6) who stated that their economic situation had improved compared to rural respondents (3). Respondents over 65 years old were more likely to indicate that their economic situation is the same or worse compared to two years ago ( same, little worse or worse ). Segregating respondents by education level, those who had completed high school or university were more likely to indicate economic improvement in the last two years (6 and 7 respectively selected much better or little better ). 2 The option to select same was included in the November 2014 Timor Tatoli survey to both Economic Situation questions. This was not included in the previous surveys; therefore, comparisons cannot be made to March 2014.
How does the economic situation of your household compare to two years ago? Is it... What do you think will happen to the economic situation of your household in a year s time? Will it be... 3 2 2 0% 1 Much Better Little Better Same Little Worse Much Worse Don't Know or Refused Much Better Little Better Same Little Worse Much Worse Don't Know or Refused When asked what will happen to their economic situation in their household in a year s time, just over half (5) selected much better or a little better. Urban respondents were more likely to be optimistic about their economic future (81% answering much better or little better ), compared to rural respondents (4 saying much better or better ). Respondents who are employed and not engaged in farm work are more likely to report that their economic situation will be much better or little better (89%), compared with those who work on their own farm (4) or on another farm (1).