eThekwini shocked at death threats made against auditors
eThekwini mayor, Zandile Gumede has instructed the municipality's head of security to come up with a safety plan to protect state auditors.
The Auditor-General in Pietermaritzburg withdrew the audit team, saying their safety had been compromised.
Addressing journalists at City Hall, Gumede said she was shocked by the allegations.
"We will not allow this situation to be left unattended. This issue must be dealt with and [we must] must ensure that it does not repeat itself. Organs of State, Chapter Nine and independent institutions should be allowed to do their work without fear or favour," she said.
Meanwhile, the DA says it will write to Parliament's Chair of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and request that Gumede and the city manager are invited to account after auditors were withdrawn.
The opposition party's Tim Brauteseth says Parliament cannot stand by while eThekwini is turned into the "wild west" where a constitutional body is unable to fulfil its functions without fear or favour.
The Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs says it will be investigating the circumstances leading to the decision to pull auditors from doing their work.
"The KwaZulu-Natal ffice of the Auditor-General is the supreme audit institution in the province and it is mandated to audit all government entities, including municipalities, which are, in turn, obliged to submit themselves to regular audits. We cannot tolerate alleged threats that compromise this process," said MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube.