Only a month before the August local government elections, the data from the GCRO shows that satisfaction with municipalities in Gauteng has declined since 2013, but dissatisfaction has also dropped. These results suggest a greater middle-ground of potentially ‘undecided’ voters.
The GCRO is a partnership between the University of Johannesburg, the University of the Witwatersrand, the Gauteng Provincial Government and local governments in Gauteng.
The survey found that respondents increasingly distinguish between government performance at national and local levels. Recently increasing levels of dissatisfaction with the national government seem to go hand-in-hand with positive perceptions of local governments.
The results are from a massive Quality of Life Survey conducted every two years by the GCRO, with the 2015 survey based on 30,000 respondents from across Gauteng.
The results of the 2015 Quality of Life Survey were launched by GCRO Executive Director Rob Moore, and responded to by Gauteng Premier David Makhura and SALGA Gauteng chairperson Parks Tau this week. (28 June, 2016).
“The GCRO’s 2015 Quality of Life Survey is the largest social attitudes survey ever conducted in the Gauteng province. Over 200 questions are asked of residents from all parts of the province and every walk of life,” Moore said.
“Many of the questions asked in the Survey relate to satisfaction with services and satisfaction with government, and here we see key trends relevant to the August local elections. In 2013, 37% of respondents were satisfied with local government. In 2015, this is down to 34%. However, in 2013, 51% were firmly dissatisfied with local government, which has dropped to 45%. It appears that more people are undecided – neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. Interestingly, at 43%, whites are more satisfied with local government than Africans at 33%,” he added.
During the period in which the survey was conducted (July 2015 to May 2016), satisfaction with local government improved while, by contrast, national government took a big knock in levels of satisfaction – both since 2013, and over the course of the survey – especially as a result of ‘Nenegate’.
