The UDM urged President Jacob Zuma to order that the Nelson Mandela Municipality forensic audit report be made public.

"The refusal by the local authorities from this municipality to make the report public undermines government's anti-corruption campaigns," United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader Bantu Holomisa said in a statement.

It defied logic how the Herald newspaper had to go to court to demand that the report be made public considering that the ANC always portrayed itself as the champion of the zero tolerance on corruption campaign, he said.

Both the SA Police Service and the Hawks should be assigned to arrest the culprits immediately, as the refusal to release the report condoned corruption.

The argument that the release of this report would jeopardise national security was bizarre to say the least, and pointed to the government's use of scarecrow tactics to cover up corruption.

"The taxpayers have the right to know what officials at all levels do with their money," Holomisa said.