Cricket SA’S appearance before portfolio committee postponed
CRICKET South Africa’s appearance in front of the parliamentary portfolio committee for sports, arts and culture scheduled for today was postponed after the federation informed the committee that it wasn’t ready yet with the forensic report about suspended CEO Thabang Moroe.
The appearance was set as a follow-up engagement requested by the committee after CSA originally appeared before the committee on June 19. The report was to be the top item on the agenda, but it is understood the committee also wanted to interrogate CSA about the continuing debate about transformation that has exploded within the sport.
“They (CSA) said the report was still with their Audit and Risk Committee,” said a spokesperson for the committee.
She added that the body felt it was a “reasonable enough reason”, to push back the meeting, a new date for which must now be set.
The report compiled by Fundudzi Forensic Services was handed over to Cricket SA at the end of June. Despite CSA’S now former president Chris Nenzani claiming more than once that the report would be made public and that a first draft of the report made it possible for CSA to take action against Moroe, nothing has been done, beyond CSA’S Board of Directors meeting with Moroe and his legal team last Thursday.
The Board and Moroe failed to reach an agreement with the latter’s legal team claiming CSA tried to rush them into agreeing to a decision.
Moroe was suspended on full pay in the first week of December last year.
Included in the forensic audit’s terms of reference, was the revoking of media accreditation of five journalists, credit card abuse and mismanagement of the relationship between CSA and the players union, the SA Cricketers Association.
The investigation itself only started in March, after much dilly-dallying between the Board and the Members Council –
CSA’S highest decision-making body comprising all the provincial union presidents, seven of whom sit on the Board – about who had the ultimate authority in terms of establishing the terms of reference and who the investigators would submit the report to.
Nenzani tended his resignation last weekend, with acting CEO Jacques Faul following suit earlier this week, plunging the organisation into an administrative crisis, that has put a number of critical issues, including the desperate state of CSA’S finances, the relations with commercial partners and, importantly, transformation within the sport on the back burner.
On Wednesday, Saca described Nenzani and Faul’s resignations as a clear indication “that cricket in South Africa is at war with itself ”.
The organisation is still set to go ahead with its Annual General Meeting on September 5, where among other things, a new president will be elected.
Meanwhile, two players attending Cricket South Africa’s High Performance squad’s ‘culture camp’ in Skukuza tested positive for Covid-19.
Cricket SA announced yesterday morning that 50 tests were carried out on the group of players, coaches and managers, attending the camp, with two players returning positive results. The players weren’t named. As a result they will miss the camp and have begun the organisation’s isolation protocol.
“While both players are asymptomatic, CSA’S medical team will continue to regularly follow up with them to ensure their health and well-being,” read a statement from the federation.
No replacements will be made for the two players. Cricket SA added that players unable to attend the camp will join the proceedings virtually. Faf du Plessis is unable to be there after his wife Imarie, gave birth to the couple’s second child yesterday. Theunis de Bruyn, who had originally opted out of the camp due to family reasons, is now available and will join the rest of the group.