Johannesburg – The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is pressing the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) to release outstanding audit reports for Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni metros.
In a strongly worded statement at the weekend, the EFF in Gauteng expressed “serious concern over the failure of the AGSA to release the 2024/25 audit reports for the City of Johannesburg and the City of Ekurhuleni, now four months past the expected due date”.
The statement added: “This delay raises serious questions about the state of finances in these municipalities and the integrity of the Office of the Auditor-General in handling this matter.
“As a consequence of the AGSA’s failure to release the audit outcomes, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has issued a firm warning that failure by these municipalities to submit their audited financial statements could result in the suspension of their municipal bonds.”
The EFF explained that In terms of Section 126 of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), the Auditor-General is obligated to submit an audit report on financial statements to the municipal accounting officer within three months of receiving those statements.
“In this instance, an effective Auditor-General would have finalised and submitted audit reports by November 2025,” the statement said.
The EFF stated that it “rejects the lazy explanation offered by the AGSA that the delay is due to intense disputes raised by the finance departments of these municipalities”.
The EFFpointed out that the process of escalation of disputes and their resolution takes place within the initial three-month audit period following the submission of financial statements, which would have occurred in August 2025.
“As a Chapter 9 institution, the Office of the Auditor-General is expected to conduct its work with the highest levels of integrity and impartiality,’’ the EFF said.
“It must fulfil its constitutional mandate without yielding to any form of influence, whether political or otherwise.”
The EFF added that it “strongly holds that the failure to release the audit reports within the prescribed timelines borders on the manipulation of audit outcomes and undermines the credibility of the reports”.
The EFF called on the AGSA to immediately release the outstanding audit reports for the City of Johannesburg and the City of Ekurhuleni.
