Residential shacks in the Alexandra township beneath the Santon skyline in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. Jobs were at the center of a post-virus reconstruction and recovery plan presented by President Cyril Ramaphosa last month, with the government committing 100 billion rand ($6.37 billion) to create public and social employment opportunities. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg

Alec Hogg: SA business trusted, Govt not

Alec Hogg shares his rational perspective on the latest Edelmans Trust Barometer - SA business is trusted, but government? Not so much.

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25 Jan 2021, 5:46 am

Ahead of every jam-packed World Economic Forum meetings in Davos, I'd spend considerable time devising my schedule. The first diary entry was always a pre-dawn release of the latest Edelmans Trust Barometer. A must attend event – the survey's longevity (since 2001) and scale (33 000 interviews) makes it the world's best assessment of how each country's citizens regard their leaders.

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Davos 2021 has been postponed and switched to Singapore. The Trust Barometer, however, was published as usual last week. There's a smidgeon of good news for SA, one of 28 countries covered. With the trust of just 20% of citizens, the ANC government has long propped up the table. So, 2021's 7 point rise provides hope and with Nigeria now added, SA has risen to second last.