Laughable survey claims 70% of South Africans want Zuma to resign

Cape Town - Seven out of ten South Africans believe President Jacob Zuma should step down, a TNS survey has revealed.

Pollsters flubbed the 2016 US presidential election in seismic fashion and there is no reason to believe this laughable survey on Zuma's ratings.

Donald Trump's victory dealt a devastating blow to the credibility of the leading pollsters, calling into question their mathematical models, assumptions and survey methods.

Several months of polls pegged Hillary Clinton as the leader in the polarizing race and as the leader in many key battleground states. But Trump's surge crushed the conventional wisdom among pollsters.

According to News24, research firm Kantar TNS conducted a mobile survey with a representative sample of 1 000 South Africans adults from April 1 to April 3, shortly after Zuma's late night Cabinet reshuffle on March 31.

The shadowy organisation, formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, claims that its  distribution was representative in terms of race, age, gender and province. The shadowy organisation did not reveal its sampling method which is important when surveys are carried out. Chances are very high that the organisation could have sampled friends and relatives of people working for that particular organisation.

It claims that of the 1 000 people surveyed, 687 were black, 147 were white, 107 were coloured, and 47 were Indian.

"Although results were consistent across race and province, white, Indian and coloured respondents held stronger views, with 84% calling for President Zuma's resignation, versus 69% of black respondents," a TNS press release said on Tuesday.

Provincially, the Western Cape showed the highest support for resignation, with 92% in favour, while KwaZulu-Natal had the lowest, 63%.

The Eastern Cape, Gauteng and Limpopo all had support for "resignation", with levels of 70% and above.

TNS said the mobile survey, which used a third party application, was perfect to capture immediate results free from interviewer influence.

Approval rating at 'all-time low'

TNS SA director Amien Ahmed told News24 on Wednesday that the survey was designed to capture the current mood and climate in the country.

The firm has also been conducting an ongoing omnibus survey, tracking Zuma's approval ratings as far back 2009, and the latest results show a growing lack of confidence in the president's tenure, he said.

"This [omnibus] survey reveals that his approval rating is now at an all-time low," Ahmed said.

"In this latest omnibus survey, only 20% of all South Africans, living in metropolitan areas, feel that Zuma is doing a good job as president of South Africa."

Zuma's highest approval rating was recorded in November 2009, where he garnered 58%.

The latest omnibus results were taken from a sample of 2 000 adults, between March 15 and March 30, in the seven major metropolitan areas.

Kantar TNS is one of the largest research firms worldwide, with a presence in over 80 countries. Its South African offices are based in Cape Town.