October 28, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Public backing for South African president Thabo Mbeki has sharply decreased in the country, according to a poll by Research Surveys. 40 per cent of respondents approve of Mbeki’s performance, down 14 points since June.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Public backing for South African president Thabo Mbeki has sharply decreased in the country, according to a poll by Research Surveys. 40 per cent of respondents approve of Mbeki’s performance, down 14 points since June.

Mbeki replaced Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s president after the 1999 general election, where the African National Council (ANC) received 66.4 per cent of the vote. Mbeki led the ANC to a second majority government in April 2004, with 69.68 per cent of all cast ballots and 279 lawmakers in the 400-seat National Assembly.

In June 2005, Mbeki appointed minerals and energy minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka as South Africa’s deputy-president. Mlambo-Ngcuka is the first woman to hold the position.

On Oct. 24, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) released the first results of its 2007 Community Survey, based on responses from about 255,000 households across the country. The report says that "substantial progress has been made with regard to improving the living conditions of South Africans," especially in the areas of housing and basic services.

Among other figures, Stats SA found that the number of people ages 6 to 15 who were attending school has increased to more than 90 per cent. The report stated: "This indicates that the goal toward the achievement of universal primary education has almost been met."

Polling Data

Would you say Thabo Mbeki is doing a good job, or a bad job?

	Sept. 2007	Jun. 2007	Dec. 2006
Good job	40%	54%	53%
Bad job	48%	36%	31%
Don’t know	12%	12%	16%

Source: Research Surveys
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 2,000 South African adults in seven major metropolitan areas, conducted in September 2007. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.