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How South Africans view their country: a mixed message More South Africans now rate the job being done by President Nelson Mandela as good than was the case shortly after our first democratic election three years ago. However, people are increasingly dissatisfied with the way the country is being governed, and only a third of respondents are satisfied with the country's economic situation. These are some of the major findings in a countrywide study of public perceptions of national issues that the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) conducted among 2 197 respondents of 18 years and older in February this year. What are the public's feelings towards government ? national and provincial? Although the findings indicate that the majority of South Africans (58%) are still positive about the government, the higher figures for February 1996 (64%) and February 1995 (67%) show that these positive feelings are gradually declining. Respondents are less positive about their provincial governments. In only four provinces did a majority of respondents indicate a positive sentiment toward their provincial government - North-West 60%, Western Cape 58%, Northern Cape 53% and KwaZulu-Natal 52%. Respondents in the other provinces were somewhat less optimistic. According to the survey findings, positive feelings towards their respective provincial governments were expressed by only 48% of Gauteng respondents, 47% of Northern Province respondents, 47% of Eastern Cape respondents, 45% of Free State respondents and 43% of Mpumalanga respondents. Provincial premiers were also viewed critically by respondents, with the highest rating for the job well done by Mr Popo Molefe, Premier of the North-West Province (47%), and the lowest by the Reverend MA Stofile of the Eastern Cape (24%). Premiers of the other provinces were given the following positive ratings: Mr Manne Dipico (Northern Cape) 42%; Mr Tokyo Sexwale (Gauteng) 39%; Mr Hernus Kriel (Western Cape) 38%; Dr Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri (Free State) 33%; Dr Ben Ngubane (KwaZulu-Natal) 32%; Mr Mathews Phosa (Mpumalanga) 28%, and Mr Ngoako Ramathlodi (Northern Province) 27%. In contrast, 61% of respondents feel that President Nelson Mandela does his job well (compared to 52% in 1995), while 15% of respondents rate his performance as poor. These views should be considered within the context of how respondents feel about goverment in South Africa at present. In response to the question "How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the way South Africa is being governed at present?"; 43% of respondents indicated satisfaction in February 1997 - 10% less than in February last year. Levels of dissatisfaction about how South Africa is being governed however increased from 31% in February 1996 to 38% a year later. Slightly more people than last year (February 1996 - 16%) seemed to be uncertain and neither satisfied nor dissatisfied than was the case in February this year (19%). Satisfaction with the overall political and economic situation Levels of satisfaction with the overall political situation in the country remained essentially stable over the past two years (44% in February 1997 and 45% in February 1996), although both measures indicate a drop of over 30% compared with the euphoric post democratic elections measure of 76% recorded in May 1994. Attitudes concerning economic expectations are less optimistic in 1997, with only 33% of respondents indicating satisfaction with the economic situation in South Africa. (This is in keeping with the February 1995 survey). The larger proportion of South Africans now disapprove of government's handling of the economy, with 45% of black, 48% of coloured, 63% of Indian and 83% of white respondents indicating their disapproval. The public's concerns Levels of unemployment remain a key concern highlighted by South Africans. In the recent survey 46% of respondents indicated that jobs were their most important personal concern, followed by crime (18%), economic conditions (12%) and housing (7%). Government's handling of education, health and foreign relations was largely approved of by respondents at respectively 53%, 56% and 49%.while its handling of affirmative action, crime and employment creation was viewed less positively, with only 32%, 28% and 27% approval respectively. Most respondents believed that there was corruption in the civil service (73%), while only 10% felt that this was not the case. Local government An overwhelming 82% of respondents believed that everyone should pay for services provided by local government. This positive signal for local governments facing high levels of non-payment was however tempered by the low level of confidence among residents that their local governments were in fact able to solve problems in their communities. In this regard only 38% of respondents expressed confidence in their local government in the February 1997 survey, down from a corresponding figure of 57% in February 1996. Levels of party-political support There was a decline in support for both the ANC (53%) and the NP (12%) compared with 1994 when the corresponding figures were 63% and 19%. IFP support seemed to have stabilized around 4%, while PAC support improved from less than 0,5% to 2% in 1997. The support level recorded in 1997 for the DP was 2% and for the FF 1%. It is however noteworthy that levels of sympathy (which do not necessarily translate into actual electoral support for a party) for groups to the left of the parliamentary parties (e.g. AZAPO and the Black Conciousness Movement) increased from 24% in February 1996 to 29% in February 1997. The opposite was true for groups to the right of the parliamentary parties (e.g. AWB and HNP) where sympathy decreased from 20% in February 1996 to 14% in February 1997. Ways of expressing dissatisfaction with government Clearly the voting public who established a democratic South Africa continues to hold substantially positive views of the broader socio-political environment in South Africa. In this regard the survey response to a question about how respondents would show dissatisfaction with the way the government is running the country was significant. Only 1% of respondents said they would resort to violent action and 7% to protest action in order to show dissatisfaction. The majority of respondents indicated that they would express dissatisfaction by either complaining to the relevant authority (40%) or voting differently at the next election (34%). The survey seemed to indicate fundamental support for institutions of state, and revealed that political dissatisfaction was likely to be expressed via constitutional ways. Areas of concern Particular areas of concern which have emerged from the survey include unemployment, crime, government communication, local government and, to some extent, provincial government, as well as corruption. These and other issues - such as feelings about safety and security, feelings of political powerlessness and views on quality of life - will be explored in greater detail and the findings will be released by the HSRC in coming months.
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