Public confidence remains low despite GNU governance: SARB report


The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation’s 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 has conducted the longest-running public opinion survey of its kind in the world since 2003.

This year’s survey took place one year into the formation of the Government of National Unity.

The institute says the results of the report, released in Cape Town this morning, point to persistent structural and social fault lines as 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 and 34% of those surveyed had little or no confidence in its effectiveness.