Categories: Stories

Zimbabweans believe Chamisa can create jobs better than Mnangagwa

Despite his naïve gaffes and over-enthusiastic campaign promises, Movement for Democratic Change Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has established a more favourable public reputation when it comes to creating jobs than his main rival Emmerson Mnangagwa of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front.

The latest survey by Afrobarometer, conducted between 25 June and 6 July, shows that 42 percent believe that Chamisa has a better chance of creating jobs than Mnangagwa who was 10 percentage points behind.

Some 18 percent refused to answer while 8 percent said neither of them would be better at creating jobs for the people.

“It is therefore possible that perceptions of Chamisa as a more capable job creator- correct or not- probably help explain the MDC’s recent gains in party identification,” the survey says.

In May 35 percent openly associated with ZANU-PF while 24 percent associated with MDC-T Chamisa and the Alliance, but in July those who openly associated with ZANU-PF had dropped to 34 percent while those who identified with Chamisa had shot up to 29 percent.

Those sitting on the fence or claiming not to be associated with any party dropped from 40 percent to 36 percent.

Another point that could have worked in Chamisa’s favour is that opinions about “a leader’s ability to create jobs are starkly divided along partisan lines and between urban (mainly pro-MDC) and rural (mainly pro-ZANU-PF) areas”.

In urban areas, some 53 percent felt Chamisa would do a better job than Mnangagwa.

(159 VIEWS)

This post was last modified on %s = human-readable time difference 8:46 pm

Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.

Recent Posts

To go or not to go- Mnangagwa in a quandary

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa has repeatedly stated that he is not going to contest a…

November 25, 2024

ZiG loses steam, falls against US dollar for five consecutive days

The Zimbabwe Gold fell against the United States dollar for five consecutive days from Monday…

November 22, 2024

Indian think tank says Starlink is a wolf in sheep’s clothing

An Indian think tank has described Starlink, a satellite internet service provider which recently entered…

November 18, 2024

ZiG firms against US dollar for 10 days running but people still do not have confidence in the currency

Zimbabwe’s new currency, the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), firmed against the United States dollars for 10…

November 16, 2024

Zimbabwe among the top countries with the widest gap between the rich and poor

Zimbabwe is among the top 30 countries in the world with the widest gap between…

November 14, 2024

Can the ZiG sustain its rally against the US dollar?

Zimbabwe’s battered currency, the Zimbabwe Gold, which was under attack until the central bank devalued…

November 10, 2024