“Our job is only to hold up the mirror – to tell and show the public what has happened.”

Walter Cronkite

The Statistician-General for South Africa, Dr Pali Lehohla, today handed over the results of the 2015 KwaZulu-Natal Citizen Satisfaction Survey (CSS) to the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, the honourable Mr Edward Mchunu.  Handing over the results Dr Lehohla said high quality statistics are an invaluable conduit of trust amongst citizen and between nations.  As a conduit of trust it delivers a platform for mutual accountability.

The CSS was conducted by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) at the behest of the Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal, over October and November 2015. The aim of the survey is to understand how residents rate services provided at provincial and local municipality levels. The questionnaire asked both objective questions related to access to basic service delivery, as well as subjective questions regarding citizens’ perceptions of government services. Questions included individual perceptions of the quality of municipal or local government services or amenities; the performance of local municipalities; the performance of provincial government; and how well these levels of government communicate with the citizenry.

In terms of satisfaction with the performance of provincial government, the results were fairly evenly distributed, with 33% of citizens stating that they were satisfied, 31% stating that they were somewhat satisfied, and 36% expressing dissatisfaction with the performance of the KZN provincial government.

The ratings differed markedly by population group, education level and income. Almost 50% of the coloured population stated that they were satisfied with provincial government’s performance, while only 31% of Indian Asians indicated that they were satisfied. As levels of education increased, satisfaction with performance of provincial government increased as well. Those within the highest income bracket were twice as likely to be satisfied with the performance of provincial government as those in the lowest income bracket.

The findings differed markedly when citizens were asked about their level of satisfaction with the overall performance of local government. 49% of residents indicated dissatisfaction with the overall performance of local government, with only 25% indicating that they were satisfied. The majority (52%) of Black African residents indicated dissatisfaction with the performance of their local municipalities, as compared with colored (27%), Indian/Asian (24%) and white (22%) residents.

In uMkhanyakude, Zululand and uThukela districts, 70% of residents indicated dissatisfaction with the performance of their local municipality. Amajuba, uThungulu and eThekwini reported the highest levels of satisfaction, with 60% of residents indicating that they were satisfied with the performance of their local municipality.

Conducting of this survey, and the release of the results, provides the KZN government with a mirror against which it can advance issue identification, plan interventions, implement programmes and assess impacts. It provides a platform for government and citizens to start conversations around provincial priorities and improving governance. Analysts and social scientists will now have a wealth of data to assess the gap between perception and reality.

For more information please download the analytical and technical reports here.