Mbeki's ratings plummet

2008-07-21 16:02

Johannesburg - Thabo Mbeki's approval rating as president of South Africa has dropped since the beginning of the year, according to a TNS Research Survey released on Monday.

Researchers also found that ANC president Jacob Zuma's approval ratings had not seen a significant overall rise since they started measuring his ratings as party president in February.

The company conducted the two surveys among 2 000 people living in metropolitan areas to gauge the approval rating for the two in their different leadership capacities.

They have conducted approval ratings for Mbeki for a number of years and found that the latest reading, taken in June 2008, showed a decline from 37% in April, to 32% in June.

In 2005 Mbeki's approval score averaged 61%, with a high of 66% in April 2005.

It dropped to 54% by the end of that year but hovered around that level until June 2007.

In September 2007 there was a drop of 14% points to 40%, his lowest since April 2003. His approval average for 2007 was noted as 48%.

Racial, language groups, area

The approval rating among black respondents came in at 43% (down from 65% for the same period in 2007), whites 10%, (34% in June 2007) coloureds 15% (33% in June 2007) and Indians and Asians nine percent (43% in June 2007).

By black language groups, researchers found that his approval ratings were highest among isiXhosa speakers at 57%, and lowest among isiZulu speakers at 37%.

The company said analysis by area showed that in June 2008 approval for Mbeki in the Eastern Cape was 49%, with 76% in East London and 37% in Port Elizabeth.

It was lowest in Durban at 18%, and Cape Town at 21%.

His approval rating in Gauteng was 36%. For Johannesburg, excluding Soweto, it was 36%, Soweto 30%, East Rand 36%, West Rand 33%, and Vaal/South Rand 48%.

Pretoria was 37% and Bloemfontein was 65%.

- SAPA