The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation’s (IJR) 2025 South African Reconciliation Barometer (SARB) shows that despite a change in government following last year’s elections, confidence in public institutions remains low.
The SARB, conducted since 2003, is the longest-running public opinion survey of its kind in the world.
This year’s survey took place one year into the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU).
The IJR says the results, as reflected in the report released in Cape Town, Western Cape Province, this morning, point to persistent structural and social fault lines, while confidence in political parties remains low.
According to the data, 31% of respondents rated the GNU’s performance to date as high, the same percentage rated it as moderate, while 34% of those surveyed had little or no confidence in its effectiveness.
Average confidence was highest in the Western Cape Province, North West Province and Limpopo Province, and lowest in the Northern Cape Province, KwaZulu-Natal Province, and Free State Province.
Regarding public institutions, SA’ confidence in the South African Broadcasting Corporation was highest at 54% followed by SA Revenue Service and the Constitutional Court.
The survey found that the lowest levels of public confidence were in local government.
The institute says economic hardship remains widespread, and most SA view poverty and inequality as the biggest barrier to reconciliation and the area of least progress since the dawn of democracy.
–SABC–
