Voters believe SA is doomed, the worst is yet to come

South Africans – across all race groups, social classes and ages – feel that, in 10 years’ time, the country will be a worse place than it is now.

The pessimism is highest among Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) voters, 80% of whom believe things will be “much worse”.

The Social Research Foundation carried out an opinion survey last month among more than 3 000 people who were contacted telephonically.

Pessimism about the future was highest among women; 48% feel that the country will be “much worse” by 2032, whereas just 44% of men shared that opinion.

Indian’s the gloomiest, while older folk are more optimistic

The survey showed that Indians as a group are the most gloomy about the future, with 58% saying the country would be much worse, compared to 49% of black people, 46% of coloureds and just 26% of whites.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, the highest proportion of those who thought things would be “much better” was among black people at 23%.

Ominously, given that SA’s demographics are dominated by younger people, it was the youth, aged between 18 and 24, who felt SA would be much worse at 58%.

Older people were less pessimistic, with 32% of those older than 60 agreeing SA would be worse.

When it comes to registered voters, 48% of those who support the ANC agree with the “much worse” scenario, compared to 42% of Democratic Alliance (DA) supporters, while EFF voters (80%) believe the country will be much worse.

‘Nothing good for the ANC’

Chief economist at the Efficient Group Dawie Roodt said the report was quite concerning as it showed a lot of people had a negative outlook for SA.

He said this spelt nothing good for the ANC.

“This negative view about the future will have an immense impact on investments and future economic growth.”

Political analyst Dr Ntsikele-lo Breakfast said President Cyril Ramaphosa himself had once noted that the people had punished the ANC, and it contributed to its low electoral performance.

“The ANC should not be surprised… because it is well aware of how it performs and what it does. The future is very bleak for the ANC, and the findings are quite concerning,” he said.

DA spokesperson Cilliers Brink said it was significant ANC supporters, whose party was in charge of the national government and eight of the nine provinces, were highly pessimistic about the country’s future.

The irony is that the country’s future might no longer be in the ANC’s hands.”

The Citizen reached out to the ANC for comment, but there was no response.

lungas@citizen.co.za

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