Some 63 percent of South Africans believe that President Thabo Mbeki has done his job very or fairly well, a poll conducted by Markinor shows.

His rating has dropped from 80 percent in 2004 to 78 percent in 2005 to 73 percent in 2006, to the latest figure at the end of last year.

Mbeki has still done better than his deputy, Phumzile Mlambo-Nqcuka, who has received a 46 percent job approval rating. The national government received 57 percent.

The bi-annual Government Performance Barometer opinion poll was conducted by Markinor in November last year. Markinor did face-to-face interviews with 3 500 respondents representative of South Africa's adult population. Questions were asked about the performance of the president, deputy president and the national government.

In the survey the government's performance on 23 policy areas was assessed. According to the poll South Africans feel urgent action is needed to stop the brain drain, create jobs and reduce unemployment, reduce the
crime rate, improve transparency and accountability and fight corruption in government.

People interviewed wanted action on government's management of the economy, the narrowing of the income gap, affirmative action in the civil service, the cost of living and inflation control.