Gaye Davis
TWENTY months after it first convened in Cape Town, what do South Africans think of their new Parliament? Perhaps predictably, opinion is mixed and differs along racial lines.
The Public Opinion Service of the Institute for a Democratic Alternative for South Africa (Idasa) surveyed a sample of 2 674 South Africans between September and November last year. The results, released this week, and weighted to reflect the opinion of of an electorate of about 24,3-million voters, show that 53% approved of Parliament’s performance (23% strongly), while 36% disapproved (nine percent strongly) and seven percent had no opinion.
Broken down racially, however, the picture changes. While 63% of African people approved of Parliament’s
performance, only 24% of white people did (62% disapproved, 24% strongly). The figures for Indian and coloured people’s approval were 47% and 40% respectively.
A key factor influencing perceptions about Parliament was contact with members of Parliament. A startlingly high 31% said they had had some contact during the past year whether personal, at a rally or meeting, with their staff or through receiving mail. In the United States the figure is 40%; in Hungary it’s 8%.
Those who had contact tended also to feel MPs did well in staying in touch with people, that they could help them and that, as citizens, they had some influence over Parliament. The survey showed that African respondents ranked higher than other South Africans in terms of contact with MPs.
Levels of parliamentary approval rated only slightly lower than the 58% who think the Government of National Unity is performing well, but far below the 77% who approve of the way President Nelson Mandela is doing his job.
All of this was much more positive than opinion on the performance of provincial government, where 46% disapproved overall and 42% approved.