Sunday, 08 March 2026

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is concerned by the questionable conduct of the Auditor-General of South Africa, who is failing to release information about municipalities that are looting state money through water tankering.

We wrote to the AGSA on 24 February 2026 to request a list of the 55 municipalities that are using water tankers. There is prima facie evidence that these water tankers vandalise municipal water infrastructure in order to force municipalities to use their services, while our people suffer by drinking water whose quality and status we cannot guarantee. What is even more alarming is that these very same companies have corrupt relationships with municipal officials, supplying communities with water that can kill them so that they and their friends can live opulent lifestyles funded by corrupt money.

The EFF is concerned that the AGSA does not see the urgency of responding to our request as quickly as possible, treating it as a mere administrative task of providing a report.

Last week, the National Assembly adopted a report on matters related to the AGSA and its strategy on culture change. We commended the AGSA on the improvements made and warned that there appear to be signs of weakening institutional capacity, infiltration, and politicisation of one of the most important Chapter 9 institutions meant to safeguard our democracy.

The EFF is even more concerned because when we commended the AGSA, we noted that former Auditors-General left behind an intact organisation, not without challenges, particularly funding constraints and the safety of auditors, especially in local government. However, it now appears that the current AGSA does not respect both Parliament and the sacrosanct integrity of the institution with which she has been entrusted, and we will begin to question her own integrity as a person.

We did not write to the AGSA asking her to do us a favour or requesting confidential personal information. We are making a follow-up on a report she presented to Parliament, and we want to use the audit outcomes to hold the executive accountable. Unlike others, we engage with state institutions in order to hold the executive accountable and ensure that corruption is dealt with. It is therefore unacceptable that the very institution that must support this work is now derailing it.

We call on the AGSA not to attempt to depoliticise our democratic institutions and to release the requested information publicly, because it is not confidential and will aid public representatives in conducting proper oversight. Failure to release this information will leave us with no choice but to begin to suspect that she is conflicted and may be part of the very scheme we seek to expose.