DOCUMENTS

63% of South Africans happy Zuma is gone - Kantar

Half of survey respondents in KZN report being unhappy over president's forced resignation

Newly-elected President Cyril Ramaphosa ‘will do a good job as president’ says 7 out of 10 South Africans

Thursday 8 March 2018, Cape TownSeven out of 10 eligible South African voters have stated that they believe newly-elected President Cyril Ramaphosa will do a good job as the new president of South Africa. This follows the first State of the Nation Address (SONA), by the new President Cyril Ramaphosa, which was followed by 77% of those interviewed.

This is according to a Mobile survey conducted by Kantar Public from 20-26 February amongst a sample 1112 South African adults and representative in terms of race, gender, income and province.

Nearly two-thirds (73%) of those interviewed, reported that ‘the economy will grow’ now that Cyril Ramaphosa is the president.

Jacob Zuma’s resignation

In the aftermath of an uncertain and tumultuous build-up, most South Africans (65%) were ‘happy’ with former President Jacob Zuma’s ultimate resignation late on the evening of 14 February. A quarter of the sample, however, were ‘unhappy’ with the resignation.

Opinion in Kwazulu-Natal differed from that of other provinces. Even within Kwazulu-Natal, respondent sentiment was divided with half (49%) reporting to be ‘unhappy’ and 39% ‘happy’ with the resignation of former President Jacob Zuma.

Support for the ANC

The survey also measured opinion about support for the ANC in the next 12 months. Fifty-nine (59%) percent think support for the ANC will grow in the next 12 months, but differing on racial lines with about two-thirds (64%) of the Black sample stating that support will ‘grow’ while 38% of White, Indian and Coloured respondents share a similar view.

Technical note:

The mobile survey was administered by Kantar Public (South Africa) four days after the State of the Nation Address (SONA), on 20-26 February. It was done as a short message service (SMS) based mobile survey, which has the benefit of reaching across all mobile devices. The study was conducted amongst 1112 adults (18+ years) across South Africa. The data is representative in terms of race, gender, income and province.

The study was conducted by Kantar Public as part of its ongoing research into current social and political issues and was funded by Kantar South Africa.

Statement issued by Amien Ahmed, Director: Kantar Public, South Africa, 8 March 2018