Motlanthe beats Zuma in approval rating
2012-12-17 14:19
Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma's national approval
level is 52%, while Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe's is at 70%, according
to a survey released on Monday.
"The survey found that, overall, 52% of people surveyed
approved of the way President Zuma is doing his job," TNS South Africa
said in a statement.
The survey was conducted between 6 and 10 December via
cellphone amongst a national sample of 3 100 people aged between 18 and 45 and living
in South Africa's metro and non-metro areas.
The study showed that in metro areas the figure for Zuma
fell slightly to 49%, but rose to 58% in non-metro areas.
Motlanthe's approval level was 70% overall, 67% in metro
areas and 75% in non-metro areas.
"The previous metro reading for the deputy president
was 51%. He has maintained a small lead over the president the whole year, but
this has now widened considerably."
Race
TNS said that as always in South African political matters,
there were major differences by race.
As the study was done a few days before the African National
Congress's national elective conference in Mangaung, it was worth noting that
amongst black South Africans approval levels were, as usual, higher than for
other groups, TNS said.
Among blacks, Zuma had a 57% approval rating and Motlanthe
75%. In metro areas Zuma's approval rating fell and Motlanthe's rose.
Whilst there were no differences by gender for the figures
for the president, the figures for the deputy president show higher approval
levels among men.
No age differences occur for Motlanthe, but the figures show
a rise in approval amongst younger people for Zuma.
"Not surprisingly, President Zuma's ratings are highest
in KwaZulu-Natal, 64%, whereas Deputy President Motlanthe's figures are highest
in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West, 80%."
- SAPA
