Only a quarter of South Africans over the age of 18 trust their current Local Governments, while more than half (55%) of South Africans who are registered to vote on 4 November 2026 are distrustful of their Local Governments.
Two months before South Africans head to the polls to elect new local governments, Ipsos research suggests that electoral outcomes remain far from settled, with significant numbers of registered voters still available to be persuaded.
Nearly one in seven South Africans say they have missed work, school, college or university because they could not afford transport, with younger adults, lower-income households and residents in Free State among those most affected.
New Ipsos data reveals the scale of South Africa’s reliance on social grants, with the Child Support Grant (CSG) dominating, the once-temporary Covid-era Social Relief of Distress (SRD) Grant becoming a lifeline for (especially) young South Africans, and a relatively small employment base supporting an expanding grant system.
