EXCLUSIVE: Jobs and Crime, Not Race and Land, Worry South Africans

A new survey* from the Social Research Foundation (SRF) conducted earlier this month shows that South Africans want the unity government to do more to address unemployment and criminality.

Respondents were asked what they believed the main priorities for the government should be.

Top of the list was the question of unemployment. Forty percent of South Africans said this issue should be a top government priority.

Two issues were tied in second place.

Corruption was cited by 22% of voters as something that should be a top government priority. Crime was also cited by 22% of voters as something that should be a top government priority.

Behind those two issues, came illegal immigration that was cited by 19% of voters.

Drugs were cited by 17% of voters.

Water supply was cited by 16% of voters.

Behind water supply came roads, which was cited by 14% of voters.

This was followed by housing which was cited by 11% of respondents.

Only 8% of voters said that electricity should be one of the government’s priorities, reflecting the improvement in electricity supply in the country since the new energy minister was appointed.

Issues of racism, land reform, and the like, came very low down the priority list. Only 2% of voters cited racism as something that should be a top government priority while just 1% cited land reform.

*The Social Research Foundation’s Q4 2025 Market Survey was commissioned by the Foundation and conducted by Victory Research among 1 002 registered voters between 27 October and 14 November 2025 using telephonic CATI interviews. A single-frame random digit-dialling design was used, drawing from all possible South African mobile numbers to ensure that every number had an equal probability of selection, with national sim card penetration exceeding 250%, more than 90% of adults owning a phone, and mobile networks covering 99.8% of the population, giving universal practical coverage. The sample was fully weighted to match the national registered voter population across all key demographics, including language, age, race, gender, education, income, and urban or rural location. Turnout modelling assigned each respondent a probability of voting based on questions measuring their likelihood of participation, with the primary turnout model set at 52.8%. The poll carries a 4.0% margin of error at a 95% confidence level, with a design effect of 1.762.