JACOB Zuma was last year rated the best president the country has ever had since May 2006.

An IPSOS Markinor research conducted during November last year has revealed that 77percent of South Africans believe Zuma is doing a good job.

"This is the highest rating for a president since May 2006 and will more than likely shore up his credentials in the light of the tough public relations press he is currently receiving about his personal life," Markinor said in a statement yesterday.

Under the leadership of acting president Kgalema Motlanthe in November 2008 the rating was 56percent.

The findings also show that 75percent of those surveyed felt the government was doing well in distributing welfare payments.

The fly in the ointment is the ratings the government has received when it comes to reducing crime, maintaining transparency and accountability, fighting corruption and creating jobs.

These fell to 50percent or less. - Ido Lekota