Western Cape - State of the Province Report February 2010

The Western Cape was one of the key battleground provinces in the 2009 election and has traditionally been a highly competitive electoral arena. After much comings and goings in the Office of the Premier, things have finally settled down and Helen Zille's Provincial Government is enjoying higher ratings than its predecessor.

"A key finding of the survey is that the Provincial Government in the Western Cape is enjoying broad based approval from DA, ANC and COPE supporters - a much needed multi-party support base from which to tackle the many challenges facing the province in 2010. It is clear that the leadership battle within the Western Cape ANC had an extremely negative impact on approval ratings for the Office of the Premier and the Provincial Government. These ratings are now starting to improve under the leadership of the DA," said Helen Macdonald, a political analyst at Ipsos Markinor.

Summary of findings:

Performance ratings for both the Premier and the Provincial Government have improved drastically since Helen Zille and the Democratic Alliance were elected to run the province.

The Provincial Government enjoys support across the board and over 60% of DA, ANC and COPE supporters feel the Provincial Government is performing well.

[The above are selected results from a nationally representative study conducted by Ipsos Markinor in November 2009.  The sample is 3 374 adults of 18 years and older, the coverage is national and the margin of error is between 0.7 and 1.7%.  The sample accurately mirrors the South African population.]

Performance of the Premier

As of November 2009, almost 60% of citizens in the Western Cape approve of the performance of Premier Helen Zille. This is a 20% increase from earlier in the year (April 2009) where just 39% approved of the performance of Lynne Brown.

Prior to the April 2009 election, the office of the Premier experienced some instability over the past two years which would affect job performance ratings. Ebrahim Rasool (25 July 2004 - 25 July 2008) was fired from the position of Premier by the ANC NEC on the 14^th of July 2008 and replaced by Lynne Brown the former MEC for Economic Development and Tourism.

Brown was in the position for less than a year when the 2009 Election necessitated another changeover in Provincial Government. Helen Zille, who won the World Mayor of the Year award in 2008, brings experience and credibility to the position as well as much needed stability. It is interesting to note that just over half of ANC and COPE supporters in the Western Cape also approve of her performance.

Performance of Provincial Government

Performance ratings of the Provincial Government follow a similar trend with a marked increase since the DA took over the reins of power from the ANC. Less than half the citizens of the Western Cape approved of the ANC led Provincial Government in April 2009 and now 60% are happy with the way in which the Provincial Government is performing. ANC and COPE supporters are just as positive as DA supporters which demonstrates that the Provincial Government seems to be meeting the needs of all its citizens and not just the supporters of the majority party in the legislature.

Performance of Premier and Provincial Government November 2009

In comparison to ratings of other Provincial Governments and Premiers, the Western Cape receives the fourth highest rating (each province is rated by its own citizens). Free State and Gauteng receive higher ratings as does the Northern Cape although sample sizes are fairly small in this province so results should be read with caution.

Statement issued by Ipsos-Markinor, February 19 2010

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