It's complicated. If you go through all the different polls on the first link, you'll also see figures surrounding SA citizens' thoughts on the efficiency of ANC governance, with only 30% of the country considering the ANC 'good' at their administrative function. Despite this, they still have close to 50% support according to this poll and other polls, generally.

So, where does this support stem from? I wish I knew. I think opposition parties wished they understood, because how do you win over voters that seem supportive of a party they clearly don't think are very suited for the job? It's completely irrational.

Most likely, it's old loyalties that die hard. The ANC still have some PR from the apartheid era. If you, again, read through the first link, you'll also see a question regarding South Africa's present issues and who the primary culprit is. Once again, most South Africans blame the ANC for our current issues, not the legacy of apartheid.

So, honestly, our voters don't seem to understand what they want. A good section of us are confident that the ANC will lose their majority come 2024, but I honestly cannot tell you what the primary motivation for voters will be. Load shedding, maybe?

https://www.politicsweb.co.za/documents/anc-polling-under-50-for-2024--brenthurst-foundati

https://www.thebrenthurstfoundation.org/news/brenthurst-survey-shows-vast-majority-of-south-africans-condemn-russia/

>A survey conducted on behalf of The Brenthurst Foundation has found
that 74.3% of South Africans believe that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
is “an act of aggression that must be condemned” while only 12.7%
believe it is “an acceptable use of force”.

South Africans are very much on the side of Ukraine.