A new survey reveals that a mere 7% of the respondents supported the recent looting and violence that broke out in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng – but the majority of those are young people aged 20-40 years old. The data also shows that this group category is 4,83-times more likely to support the looting and violence than those over 40 years old.
This is according to research from CompariSure. Using its conversational AI technology, CompariSure’s research involved “chatting” to over 1 600 respondents in order to gather opinions and results, all within a 48-hour period.
Most proponents of the violent protests were of the view that somehow, such protests were a “conveyer belt” leading to socio-economic redress. To this point, 84% of those surveyed felt that underlying issues such as lack of education, high unemployment rates, or the ongoing lockdown were contributing factors to the looting and violence.
The survey also found that unemployed individuals were almost three times more likely to be in support of the violence and looting than those currently with jobs. Sixty-four percent of respondents between 20 and 40 years old noted that they are currently unemployed.
The data collected from the survey also suggests that, while it is widely believed that the arrest of Jacob Zuma sparked the looting, just under a quarter of respondents did not know why he was arrested.
Moreover, according to the survey, 85% of South Africans were also concerned about the spreading of the Covid-19 virus as a result of the protests. The protests came at a time when the Covid-19 vaccine rollout was underway, and with the roadblocks and chaos, it was difficult to distribute vaccines to various parts of the country. This also affected the critically ill who couldn’t receive their medication due to the conditions caused by the unrest.
“With any protests or violent uprising, one often wonders whether it’s just the small minority breaking the law, or whether the vast majority also believe in the cause at hand,” says Matt Kloos, chief finance officer of CompariSure. “While it was uplifting to learn that the vast majority of South Africans were in fact against the violence and looting, it was incredibly troubling to see just how desperate the unemployed youth of our country have become.
“We are hoping that our survey results will help galvanise South Africa into action, be it via government, the private sector, or civil society. To protect the future of our country, all South African’s need to play their part in providing solutions and acting on them,” he adds.