A third of metro adults feel that the tripartite alliance should split for the elections
In a survey of 2 000 residents of South Africa's metropolitan areas conducted in late 2010 and released today, TNS Research Surveys (Pty) Ltd, South Africa's leading marketing and social insights company, revealed that 33% of metro adults feel that the ANC, the SA Communist Party and COSATU should fight the impending local government elections as separate bodies. TNS said that 29% disagreed and a considerable 38% gave a "don't know" response - perhaps indicative of voter apathy as this is a much higher "don't know" response than usual.
The level of agreement did not differ by race - an unusual finding for South African political issues - but there were differing levels of disagreement and of those giving the "don't know" response:
Males tend to be more in agreement (36%) than females (30%) who also gave higher "don't know" responses (42% vs 34% for males). Levels of agreement rose somewhat for older people, from 27% for those aged under 24years to 40% for those aged 60 years and more.
It is interesting to note that 37% of people in employment agreed that the parties should split, compared with 29% of those not in employment.
TNS said that the results show quite strong differences by area:
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Agree that ANC, SACP and COSATU should fight the local government elections a separate bodies |
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Gauteng |
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33 |
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Johannesburg and environs |
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31 |
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Johannesburg excl Soweto |
32 |
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East Rand |
35 |
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West Rand |
29 |
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Soweto |
38 |
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Vaal Triangle/South Rand |
16 |
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Pretoria |
41 |
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Cape Town |
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28 |
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Durban |
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32 |
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Eastern Cape |
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36 |
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Port Elizabeth |
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41 |
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East London |
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27 |
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Bloemfontein |
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65 |
Agreement is highest in Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein but is much lower in the Vaal Triangle/South Rand area.
Our take-out
There have been several instances of public policy differences between the members of the tripartite alliance in recent months - that more people in metro areas feel that they should split than not is revealing.
Technical note
The study was conducted amongst a sample of 2 000 adults (1260 blacks, 385 whites, 240 coloureds and 115 Indians/Asians) in the seven major metropolitan areas: it has a margin of error of under 2.5% for the results found for the total sample. The study is conducted by TNS Research Surveys (Pty) Ltd as part of their ongoing research into current social and political issues and were funded by TNS Research Surveys.
About TNS
TNS is the global leader in custom market research delivering actionable insights and research-based business advice to clients around the globe so they can make more effective business decisions. TNS offers comprehensive industry knowledge within the Consumer, Technology, Finance, Automotive and Political & Social sectors, supported by a unique product offering that stretches across the entire range of marketing and business issues, specializing in product development & innovation, brand & communication, stakeholder management, retail & shopper, and qualitative research. Delivering best-in-class service across more than 80 countries, TNS is dedicated to discovering growth opportunities for its clients in an ever-changing world. Through its pioneering and innovative culture, TNS understands the latest marketing challenges and research techniques, being the first to discover and solve new marketing issues for clients.
Statement issued by Neil Higgs, TNS Research Surveys, March 14 2011
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