Zuma still favoured, poll shows
2012-06-08 22:10
Johannesburg - Sixty percent of eligible voters believe President Jacob Zuma was performing his duties well, according to a poll released on Friday.
The poll, conducted by research company Ipsos, asked 3 565 people to evaluate the performance of the president, deputy president, national government, municipalities, and the leader of the opposition.
Of those polled, 60% indicated Zuma was performing well. This figure remains almost unchanged from the previous Ipsos poll conducted at the end of last year, where Zuma received 61%.
Zuma received 66% in May 2011.
Over a third of respondents, 36%, felt Zuma was not performing well.
Nearly three-quarters of African National Congress supporters, 73%, believed Zuma was doing a good job while only 38% of Democratic Alliance supporters held the same opinion.
Zuma received a favourability rating of 6.06 out of 10, not indicative of his performance but rather how he was perceived by respondents.
Over half, 58%, of respondents believed Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe was doing a good job. Twenty-nine percent disagreed and 13% were undecided.
Helen Zille was described as performing her duties well by 42% of respondents. This figure shifted between DA supporters, 80%, and ANC supporters, 35%.
Zille received a favourability rating of 4.08 out of 10.
The poll found for the first time since 1994 that national government, at 61%, was perceived to be doing a better job than any of its leaders.
A third, 34%, felt national government was not doing a good job.
Only 45% of respondents thought municipalities were performing their duties well, the lowest score, versus 51 percent against.
Both ANC (48%) and DA supporters (49%) showed similar numbers regarding the poor performance of municipalities.
"It could be expected that their scores [municipalities] would be lower, since they affect lives directly," said Ipsos public affairs director Mari Harris.
The poll was conducted between 13 April and 18 May.
- SAPA
