WP boss not interested in war of words with Van Niekerk
WESTERN Province Rugby Football Union president, Zelt Marais says they do not want to become involved in a verbal battle with Raymond van Niekerk following his resignation from the board and the subsequent comments he made in a media interview.
Van Niekerk resigned following the non-extension of fellow independent members Johan van der Merwe and Andre van der Veen’s tenures, and has since mentioned this as one of the main factors in his decision. Van der Merwe was replaced as Chairman of the board of WPPR (Pty) Ltd by Ebrahim Rasool. In a media statement, Marais thanked Van Niekerk for his contributions and explained why they aren’t “rushing into any deals with investors or sponsors” .
Van der Veen is said to have been instrumental in sourcing MVM Holdings, an American-based consortium headed by Durban-born lawyer Marco Masotti, as a potential investor. Negotiations are ongoing.
“We want to thank Mr Van Niekerk for the contribution he made during his time as an independent director,” Marais said. “Our mission, as mandated by the electorate (our clubs, schools, referees and associate bodies), is to manage WP Rugby wisely and responsibly and to restore the union to a good financial standing.
“We do not want to become involved in a war of words with Mr Van Niekerk and he is entitled to his opinion. We need to state unequivocally though that his claim that we have parted with logic is far-fetched. Logic is indeed the reason why we are not rushing into any deal with a potential investor or sponsor.”
Marais further said that a Non-Disclosure Agreement prohibits them from sharing any information regarding the negotiations with MVM Holdings publicly, but confirmed that they are still in confidential negotiations with MVM Holdings Shell Company – stating that WP Rugby provided MVM with the minimum terms and is awaiting feedback from them.
WPRFU president Zelt Marais confirmed that they are still in negotiations with MVM Holdings as a potential investor. | BackpagePix
“We will continue to keep all our shareholders – including our professional players – informed as the negotiations progress. We had fruitful meetings with our players, and they have distanced themselves from the media reports about their purported unhappiness over the past few days,” Marais said. “WP Rugby will not be deterred by negative comments from people who have hidden agendas and ulterior motives, and the leadership will continue to try and reach the best agreement for the union.”
Marais concluded that they will now embark on finding a replacement for Van Niekerk. “Our focus now will be on finding a replacement for Mr Van Niekerk – somebody who has integrity, a love and passion for the game of rugby, who would not walk away when things are not going his way in the boardroom, somebody who is prepared to use well-informed arguments to win his battles in the boardroom and not in the media, and lastly somebody who has the interest of the shareholder at heart and not only that of an investor,” Marais said.