eThekwini Mayor and Municipal Manager must account for threats against A-G staff

The DA will write to the Chair of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), Nelson Godi, requesting that he invites eThekwini mayor, Zandile Gumede, and the municipal manager, Philip Sithole, to come and account after staff from the Auditor General’s (A-G) office were withdrawn after receiving death threats.

The A-G is a statutory body that has a constitutional mandate to strengthen the country's democracy by enabling oversight, accountability and governance in the public sector through auditing of public finances.

As such, Parliament cannot stand by while the City of eThekwini is turned into the ‘wild west’ to the point where a constitutional body is unable to fulfill its functions without fear or favour.

The mayor and the municipal manager must explain:

- whether they were aware of the death threats being made against members of the A-G’s office and, if so, what steps they took to mitigate these threats;

- if any prior consultation was made by the A-G’s office before the decision to withdraw staff was taken, if so, what measures were taken to address the concerns raised; and

- what, if any, steps will be taken by the City of eThekwini to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

The poor state of financial management across the country’s municipalities has become a dark hole that continues to gobble billions of rands in irregular and fruitless expenditure. Threatening the A-G’s office and preventing staff from doing their job is symptomatic of the lawlessness that has become pervasive in many municipalities.

This is not the first time that the A-G has raised concerns about the interference and threats that members of his staff face while conducting their work. In 2017, the A-G’s reports on national departments and municipal entities revealed that auditors faced constant threats of reprisal for doing their work.

Parliament now has a duty to ensure that the statutory role of the A-G’s office is not eroded due to threats preventing A-G staff from doing their jobs and fulfilling their constitutional mandate.

Statement issued by Tim Brauteseth, DA Spokesperson on SCOPA, 25 May 2018