The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has called into question the independence of the Office of the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA), saying the party is “dismayed” by “politicization” of the AGSA after the AGSA allegedly failed to submit the Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality's 2022/23 audit report.

The Democratic Alliance (DA), meanwhile, accused the EFF of hiding “adverse findings” in the Auditor-General’s draft report after noting that the Council Speaker had said no report was received from the Auditor-General.

“The Speaker has misled Council by stating that no report from the AG has been received by the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE). The Mayor also misled the Council by remaining silent and allowing Councillors to be misled. Let's be clear: the Mayor's silence and the Speaker's misleading statements seem to make them complicit in a cover-up. The DA calls for their immediate resignations - they should walk before they're pushed, salvaging any shred of dignity they might have left,” the DA said.

In a statement, the EFF said the CoE had submitted its financial statements in August 2023, expecting an audit report within three months, as per the Municipal Finance Management Act.

“The EFF Gauteng believes that the AGSA’s position on the City’s finances and failure to submit the report is politically motivated, something which the AGSA is not known for. The AGSA appears to be struggling with the fact that the [finances of the] City, the only municipality whose finances are under the capable government led by the EFF, are in order, with sound financial oversight and intact systems to ensure that taxpayer’s money is used for maximum service delivery,” the party said.

As a result, it said the mayor was unable to table the report in Council, which the EFF called “political sabotage”.

However, the AGSA responded in a statement that it noted the “unfortunate and misleading” statements about the audit report.

“The AGSA confirms that it had completed the metro’s audit on time, however, the municipality’s management has raised a dispute with the national audit office regarding their audit outcome for the 2022/23 financial year, which caused the delay in tabling the report. The matter is being handled by two parties in line with the AGSA’s longstanding dispute-resolution process,” the AGSA said.

It also hit back at the EFF, questioning its independence by asserting that the AGSA carried out its constitutional mandate impartially, without fear, favour or prejudice.

Meanwhile, the EFF hit back at the DA, disputing that it was hiding the AGSA report, reasoning that the 2022/23 report dealt with the DA’s tenure in government.

The EFF said the AGSA should not be used as a political weapon to undermine a democratically elected government in the CoE.

“Since assuming governance responsibility, the EFF has made strikes in rebuilding the City’s finances, reduced outstanding debts, and has paid more service providers and creditors than in any other recent period. The sooner we receive the report from the AGSA, the sooner we will continue with clean governance for the People’s Municipality,” the party said.