Imprisoned former South African President, Jacob Zuma, was trusted by only 34 percent (one-third) of the South African population during his tenure from 2009 to 2018.
According to the findings by Afrobarometer, Mr Zuma’s tenure was marked by declining public trust in him and his government coupled with increasing perceptions of corruption.
Afrobarometer’s findings further reveal that Mr Zuma as at 2015, was the least trusted among selected South African leaders and institutions, and his performance approval rating had plummeted.
“He was poorly rated on several performance indicators, including fighting corruption, reducing crime, creating jobs, narrowing income gaps, and keeping prices stable. Majorities also believed Zuma was rarely accountable to Parliament and the courts,” noted Afrobarometer, the non-partisan African survey research network.
Majority of South Africans (about 70 percent), Afrobarometer further asserts, trusted in the nation’s military than the former president.
The key findings from Afrobarometer’s survey include:
- As of August-September 2015, only one-third (34%) of South Africans said they trusted Zuma “a lot” or “somewhat”. Citizens were twice as likely to trust the army (70%) than the president. Between 2011 and 2015, public trust in Zuma decreased by about half (from 62% to 34%).
- Nine in 10 South Africans)92%) perceived at least “some” officials at the Presidency to be corrupt, including almost half (46%) who thought “most” or “all” of them were corrupt. The proportion of citizens who perceived “most” or “all” officials at the Presidency as corrupt was almost triple the proportion recorded in 2008 (17%).
- About six in 10 citizens said the president “often” or “always” ignored Parliament (57%) and the courts (59%).
- Zuma’s popular approval rating was respectable (64%) in 2011 but dropped by almost half over the next four years; only about one-third (36%) of South Africans said he was doing his job “fairly well” or “very well” in 2015.
- The Zuma government was seen as performing “fairly well” or “very well” in distributing welfare (83%) but not in fighting corruption (20%) or narrowing gaps between rich and poor (22%).
Peruse below details of the report by Afrobarometer
News Release-low Trust High Perceived Corruption Marked Zumas Tenure-Afrobarometer-9july21. 1 (1) by Fuaad Dodoo on Scribd
