Parliament's presiding officers have once again expressed concern over reports of threats levelled at audit managers of the Auditor-General's office, who are working in the Emfuleni, Tshwane, Madibeng and Moretele municipalities. 

"The presiding officers find such threats completely unacceptable and extremely worrisome as the office of the Auditor-General is mandated to ensure good governance," parliamentary spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said.

Mothapo said the latest threats came only a few months after similar threats were levelled against other audit teams at work in eThekweni and Msunduzi, KwaZulu-Natal in May.

Earlier this month, an employee of the Auditor-General's office was shot and wounded while staying over at a guesthouse in Vanderbijlpark, in Gauteng, police said. The 32-year-old woman was sleeping when an unknown man fired shots at her through the window.

Mothapo said it was Parliament's mandate to protect and assist Chapter 9 institutions to ensure their independence, impartiality, dignity and effectiveness. 

"As such, we call upon the South African Police Service to resume in earnest with investigations on these latest threats against the Office of the Auditor-General," Mothapo said. 

In May, National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete condemned the acts following reports that the Auditor-General office in KZN had to stop auditing the books of the eThekwini Metro after a series of alleged death threats. 

The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) then said it would investigate the circumstances that led the Auditor-General's office to stop auditing processes. 

Mbete described the threats as an attempt to undermine the Chapter 9 institution's constitutional powers and a threat to accountability.

She had pointed out that Section 181 of the Constitution prohibited any person or organ of state from interfering with institutions supporting democracy, such as the office of the Auditor-General.