[DEBATE] : (Fwd) Delivery pessimism

[Patrick Bond]

Sunday Times

Most in SA think yesterday was better
12 February 2006

BRENDAN BOYLE
VERY few South Africans agree with President Thabo Mbeki that life today is 
better than it was yesterday, according to results of a poll released 
yesterday.
"Our people know from their own experience that today is better than 
yesterday, and are confident that tomorrow will be better than today," Mbeki 
said in his State of the Nation address last week.
But a Markinor poll shows that one in five believe that no aspect of service 
delivery has improved over the past two years.
And, asked separately about 15 areas of delivery from jobs to housing and 
health, at least six out of 10 in each category said they saw no 
improvement.
Power and water, which the government routinely cite as the major successes 
of the effort to deliver a better life, score best, with 38% saying their 
access to electricity has improved since 2003 and 30% saying water services 
are better.
The lowest marks came in two politically critical areas. Only 4% said 
employment had shown any improvement over the past two years and only 6% saw 
any improvement in access to land.
Fewer than one in five of the 3500 people questioned saw any improvement in 
general health care, treatment for people living with AIDS or police 
services.
The Markinor director, Mari Harris, said citizens around the world tended to 
rate governments badly in polls like this one, but she added: "These numbers 
are bad, especially when the second Mbeki term has been presented as the age 
of delivery."
The government's worst mark came in Northern Cape, where 40% said nothing 
had improved, but Harris cautioned that, because of its low population, the 
sample in the province was small.
Free State scored best, with only 11% saying nothing had become better and 
the Western Cape was next with 13% taking an equally bleak view.
The poll showed that people blame the national government for most of their 
woes, holding local government accountable mainly for refuse removal, 
electricity, sanitation and water services.
In a separate poll, the Research Surveys group predicted this week that a 
minimum 41% of voters would turn out for the municipal elections on March 1, 
with participation highest among blacks and the turnout likely to be best in 
East London.
Two-thirds of blacks are highly committed to voting, 53% of coloured people 
are determined to turn out and only 45% of whites are strongly committed, 
the poll showed.
"The final actual turnout is likely to be higher than the minimum estimate 
of 41%," Research Surveys said in an analysis of the results.