South Africa and Zimbabwe top the list of non-performers in comparison to their neighbouring countries in Southern Africa on reducing crime‚ job creation‚ management of the economy and fighting of corruption in government.
This is according to the latest Afrobarometer survey‚ released this week‚ which also revealed that public confidence in President Jacob Zuma has decreased significantly‚ with almost six in 10 South Africans saying they believe Zuma routinely ignores Parliament and the law.
“South Africans’ trust in President Zuma almost halved in the past four years‚” the survey found‚ adding: “South Africans are also of the opinion that there should be limitations on presidential power including strict term limits and accounting to parliament for government expenditure”.
Public distrust of the president (66%)‚ disapproval of the president’s performance (62%)‚ and perceived corruption in this Office (46%) are all at their highest levels since 2000.
SA’s government is rated poorly on most performance areas and mostly on economic policy areas.
Approval ratings of government performance on management of the economy‚ fighting corruption in government and crime reduction declined by more than 10 percentage points since 2011.
The Afrobarometer survey shows that unemployment remains the most important problem for government to address‚ cited as one of their three top priorities by nearly three-quarters of the survey respondents.
Where the SA government does score positively is on welfare distribution (84%) and food security (60%).
Provincial leaders currently enjoy the highest approval ratings (54%) followed by MPs (42%)‚ while those for President Zuma and local government councillors are 36%.
On a provincial level‚ residents of the Western Cape are the most satisfied (62%)‚ followed by those in KwaZulu-Natal (60%) and the Free State (55%).
South Africans are significantly more critical of the president (by 22 percentage points) and local government councillors (13 points) than citizens elsewhere in the region.
Despite this‚ the ruling party would still win in an election.
In reply to the question ‘If presidential elections were held tomorrow‚ which party‘s candidate would you vote for?’ 48% said ANC‚ 17% DA and 9% EFF. The ANC’s support has fallen from 58% in 2005 (see accompanying graph for comparisons from previous years).
SNAPSHOT: SURVEY FINDINGS ON PRESIDENT
- South Africans support limitations on presidential power: More than three-quarters support term limits (78%).
- They believe that Parliament‚ not the president‚ should make laws (76%)‚ and six in 10 (62%) say that the president should have to account to Parliament for government expenditures.
- Despite strong support for the notion that the president should be subject to the law (77%)‚ a majority believe that President Zuma “often” or “always” ignores laws (59%) and Parliament (57%).
ABOUT THE SURVEY:
Afrobarometer is an African-led‚ non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy‚ governance‚ economic conditions‚ and related issues across more than 30 countries in Africa. Five rounds of surveys were conducted between 1999 and 2013‚ and Round 6 surveys are currently under way (2014-2015). Afrobarometer conducts face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice with nationally representative samples of between 1‚200 and 2‚400 respondents.
The Afrobarometer team in South Africa‚ led by Institute for Justice and Reconciliation and Plus 94 Research interviewed 2‚400 adult South Africans in August and September 2015.
WEB LINK: See the full report here
ANC remains top despite Zuma‚ poor economic policy - Survey
South Africa and Zimbabwe top the list of non-performers in comparison to their neighbouring countries in Southern Africa on reducing crime‚ job creation‚ management of the economy and fighting of corruption in government.
This is according to the latest Afrobarometer survey‚ released this week‚ which also revealed that public confidence in President Jacob Zuma has decreased significantly‚ with almost six in 10 South Africans saying they believe Zuma routinely ignores Parliament and the law.
“South Africans’ trust in President Zuma almost halved in the past four years‚” the survey found‚ adding: “South Africans are also of the opinion that there should be limitations on presidential power including strict term limits and accounting to parliament for government expenditure”.
Public distrust of the president (66%)‚ disapproval of the president’s performance (62%)‚ and perceived corruption in this Office (46%) are all at their highest levels since 2000.
SA’s government is rated poorly on most performance areas and mostly on economic policy areas.
Approval ratings of government performance on management of the economy‚ fighting corruption in government and crime reduction declined by more than 10 percentage points since 2011.
The Afrobarometer survey shows that unemployment remains the most important problem for government to address‚ cited as one of their three top priorities by nearly three-quarters of the survey respondents.
Where the SA government does score positively is on welfare distribution (84%) and food security (60%).
Provincial leaders currently enjoy the highest approval ratings (54%) followed by MPs (42%)‚ while those for President Zuma and local government councillors are 36%.
On a provincial level‚ residents of the Western Cape are the most satisfied (62%)‚ followed by those in KwaZulu-Natal (60%) and the Free State (55%).
South Africans are significantly more critical of the president (by 22 percentage points) and local government councillors (13 points) than citizens elsewhere in the region.
Despite this‚ the ruling party would still win in an election.
In reply to the question ‘If presidential elections were held tomorrow‚ which party‘s candidate would you vote for?’ 48% said ANC‚ 17% DA and 9% EFF. The ANC’s support has fallen from 58% in 2005 (see accompanying graph for comparisons from previous years).
SNAPSHOT: SURVEY FINDINGS ON PRESIDENT
- South Africans support limitations on presidential power: More than three-quarters support term limits (78%).
- They believe that Parliament‚ not the president‚ should make laws (76%)‚ and six in 10 (62%) say that the president should have to account to Parliament for government expenditures.
- Despite strong support for the notion that the president should be subject to the law (77%)‚ a majority believe that President Zuma “often” or “always” ignores laws (59%) and Parliament (57%).
ABOUT THE SURVEY:
Afrobarometer is an African-led‚ non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy‚ governance‚ economic conditions‚ and related issues across more than 30 countries in Africa. Five rounds of surveys were conducted between 1999 and 2013‚ and Round 6 surveys are currently under way (2014-2015). Afrobarometer conducts face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice with nationally representative samples of between 1‚200 and 2‚400 respondents.
The Afrobarometer team in South Africa‚ led by Institute for Justice and Reconciliation and Plus 94 Research interviewed 2‚400 adult South Africans in August and September 2015.
WEB LINK: See the full report here
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