SA cricket on the brink of collapse

SOUTH African cricket is on the brink of collapse following Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa’s decision to invoke Section 13 of the National Sports and Recreation Act.

Doing so, will remove recognition of Cricket South Africa (CSA) as the ruling authority for cricket in the country and also halt government funding of the organisation. Because the latter figure is relatively small – understood to be in the region of R500 000 – that sanction won’t hurt CSA. However removing recognition, could do real damage to the organisation and the sport in general. It will mean the Proteas won’t be recognised as the representative team of South Africa, and the knock-on effects of that could lead to sponsors withdrawing, which would hit CSA, which has been struggling financially because of the Covid-19 pandemic, hard.

Mthethwa made his intentions known in a letter addressed to Cricket SA’S Members Council – the most powerful decision-making body in the organisation, comprising the 14 provincial presidents – and the interim board on Thursday night.

“I have decided to invoke my powers under the act and I hereby notify you that I have done so in accordance with s13 (5)(i)-(iii) by defunding CSA and derecognising CSA and I will cause this to be published in the Government Gazette in due course at the earliest opportunity,” Mthethwa wrote at the end of a five-page letter.

Mthethwa’s letter spelt out in great detail the many steps he has taken to try and resolve the administrative crisis at CSA since appointing an interim board in October last year.

Cricket SA has been locked in an administrative crisis for almost two years, with Mthethwa wanting the organisation to implement the recommendations of the Nicholson report, which calls for a board of directors, that is made up of by a majority of officials who are independent of the organisation.

Cricket SA had given Mthethwa assurances that it would make the necessary changes to its memorandum of incorporation at a special general meeting last week, but then in a secret ballot reneged on that pledge.

The interim board, which Mthethwa appointed last year to resolve the crisis, described a “self-interested vocal minority”, on the members council as causing “the greatest crisis since readmission”.

The interim board’s chair, Dr Stavros Nicolaou, reiterated a point he made during a briefing on Thursday, that there was still a window available to Cricket SA’S Members Council to resolve the current crisis. “Only the members' council can retrieve the situation now by resolving to support an expedited procedure in terms of section 60 of the Companies Act.”

The Section 60 provision in the Companies Act allows for a special resolution to be instituted and if the members council calls a special general meeting within 24 hours, and adopts the memorandum of incorporation the crisis could be averted.

Mthethwa’s office has sent through the necessary documentation which would allow his invoking of the act to be gazetted in the Government Gazette next Friday, effectively closing the door on CSA.

The acting president of CSA’S members council, Rihan Richards, said on Friday that the council was busy deciding what stance it would take in light of Mthethwa’s decision, but wouldn’t reveal what that position was.

He will convene another meeting of the members council this morning.