Johannesburg - The Democratic Alliance in Western Cape says it has laid charges against the deputy director-general of the department of agriculture, forestry and fisheries (Daff) Siphokazi Ndudane, citing a document it says implicated her in illegal abalone trade.
The allegations against Ndudane are included in a charge sheet from an internal departmental disciplinary process dated September which lays out 155 counts of fraud, 37 counts of theft, extortion, forgery, defeating the ends of justice and insubordination, DA provincial spokesperson on economic opportunities, tourism and agriculture Beverley Schäfer said in a statement.
"The department and minister Senzeni Zokwana have yet to take any decisive disciplinary action against Ms Ndudane, or against any Daff senior officials allegedly implicated in these charges," she said.
"Today’s charges serve to force national government to bring the Daff to book and prosecute those implicated in crimes which directly affect Western Cape fisheries," added Schäfer, whose party runs the province.
She said she had written a letter to Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane on September 13 requesting an urgent investigation into Daff "in light of the abovementioned damning revelations".