President Jacob Zuma is more popular than he has ever been, according to a research survey released on Tuesday.
”Zuma’s 100-day approval rating was 57%, dropping to 53% in September, but increasing to an all-time high of 58% in November,” TNS Research Surveys spokesperson Neil Higgs said in a statement.
Zuma’s increased popularity was thought to be due to his visit to Zimbabwe in August and the establishment of a task team in that country.
”It could also be related to his nomination of a new chief justice and the launch of a presidential hotline,” Higgs said.
Black South Africans were more approving of Zuma, with 75% agreeing with his leadership.
Whites were ”remarkably” positive about Zuma, but 32% were still unsure of his leadership.
”The majority of coloureds and Indians were described as ‘fence-sitters’, also unsure of Zuma,” said Higgs.
On the whole, Zuma was more popular than former president Thabo Mbeki, who ended his term on a rating of 34%.
The TNS results were drawn from three studies conducted among a sample of 2 000 South African adults from seven of the major metropolitan areas of South Africa. — Sapa