Bid to ‘capture’ SA cricket stumped
Old hand Faul steps in to right sinking ship; Graeme Smith still in the loop
● South African cricket was this week plunged into its deepest crisis since the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal, dogged by claims of cronyism and maladministration and dropped by a key sponsor just days ahead of the arrival of the England team.
At the end of a chaotic week for the game, controversial Cricket SA (CSA) CEO Thabang Moroe, who has been at the heart of the unfolding crisis, was suspended on charges of misconduct.
In an attempt to right the sinking ship, CSA yesterday appointed Titans CEO Jacques Faul as Moroe’s interim replacement.
Graeme Smith’s possible appointment as the director of cricket was still being discussed.
It is not the first time that Faul has operated in an acting leadership capacity at CSA. He occupied the role in the aftermath of the Nicholson report, when he stood in for disgraced CEO Gerald Majola. Haroon Lorgat followed Faul as the full-time CEO.
Moroe’s suspension brought to an end a calamitous reign at the head of South African cricket, capped by his attempt last weekend to ban five cricket writers from reporting on matches.
Although Moroe hurriedly reversed the decision, calling it a “mistake”, the damage inflicted on the game prompted top sponsor Standard Bank to withdraw its support after nearly 23 years.
Standard Bank chief marketing officer Thulani Sibeko said “recent developments at CSA, which are a culmination of long-standing problems, have damaged Standard Bank’s reputation”. The decision not to renew the sponsorship agreement was “not taken lightly”.
“Cricket is a national asset valued by millions of South Africans, many of them our clients, and is an integral part of the bank’s heritage,” Sibeko said.
Moroe’s moves against seasoned officials in favour of cronies was seen as an attempt to “capture” the game from cricket’s old guard, which was mostly white.
On Friday, Moroe was suspended following reports received by the social and ethics committee and the audit and risk committee of the board, that are “related to possible failure of controls in the organisation”.
The loss of Standard Bank, which sponsors the men’s national teams in all formats, was the final nail in Moroe’s coffin. The sponsorship was worth nearly R100m a year over four years. It will severely affect an organisation reeling from financial mismanagement and dwindling crowds.
Standard Bank’s move came in a dramatic week that began with Moroe’s disastrous radio interview on 702 on Monday. He had tried to justify CSA’s decision to revoke the accreditation of the five journalists.
Then came a letter from former CSA president and independent director Norman Arendse excoriating Moroe and CSA. It was followed by the resignations of three independent directors, Shirley Zinn, Iqbal Khan and Dawn Mokhobo. The former MD of the United Cricket Board (forerunner of CSA) and Test captain Ali Bacher called on Moroe to step down.
“The current CEO is out of his depth and I strongly suggest that he resigns,” Bacher said.
“I decided I would not interfere in the future running of South African cricket and I kept my word. However, recent developments have made it obligatory for me to go public and express my most serious concern about the current administration in South African cricket.”
With crowds dwindling and a projected cumulative financial loss of more than R600m at the end of the 2022 financial year, the game is at a new low.
Behind the breakdown lies a string of questionable appointments that led to seasoned administrators being pushed aside in favour of officials known to be close to Moroe, who was described as “headstrong about leading CSA steadily down the path of destruction at breakneck speed”.
The accusation is contained in documents the Sunday Times has seen that shed light on the crisis, spelling out in detail the questionable movements of top officials and the “frivolous” suspensions of critical senior executive officials.
CSA head of legal and company secretary Welsh Gwaza, chief commercial officer Kugandrie Govender and Chantal Moon, a human resources specialist brought in by Moroe to assist its human resources department, have been fingered as the chief culprits in CSA’s malaise.
Govender was described as a “career journeyman with an uncanny knack of company hopping, no real track record, and she is well known for her ability to ingratiate herself with the powers that be”.
Govender said the statement was malicious, inaccurate and untrue.
Gwaza, who is named in the documents as a close confidant of Moroe, has been described in the e-mails as “a litigation-happy lawyer who doesn’t have another solution
when CSA is faced with legal matters”.
When Gwaza spoke to the Sunday Times on Friday, he said he was at a meeting, but said the president of CSA, Chris Nenzani, was more suited to talking about his role in the organisation. Nenzani said he couldn’t comment.
The South African Cricketers’ Association, which represents professional cricketers, has taken CSA to court to get clarity on the restructuring of the domestic game.
Moroe planned to increase the provinces from six to 12.
CSA has also not paid commercial fees of the T20 Mzansi Super League, leading to the suspension of COO Naasei Appiah, head of sales and sponsorship Clive Eksteen and acting director of cricket Corrie van Zyl.
Last month an arbitrator ruled against CSA in its dispute with the Western Province Cricket Association. CSA had put the association into administration in September.
The documents said appointments to “Moroe’s inner circle” had led to the sidelining of CSA’s CFO Pholetsi Moseki and human resources manager Musa Gubevu.
Gubevu’s role was taken over by Moon. It has been alleged in e-mails that Moon operated as COO after Appiah was suspended.
The documents also said that Moon was not a full-time employee at CSA. Moon did not respond to calls.
Moseki, it was said, had “been reduced to a glorified accounts clerk, [removing] his responsibility of giving input on matters of a financial nature and spearheading the strategy for an organisation that’s wading through a financial quagmire”.
The documents said his job had been taken over by Gwaza.
Gubevu and Moseki refused to comment. Moroe was also unavailable for comment. “With Moroe being clueless about corporate matters and having isolated his colleagues who have the experience and competence to guide him in the right direction, he is left with no option but take advice without question from Gwaza and Moon,” the documents said.
The latest series of controversies come at the end of a difficult year for South African cricket. Earlier in 2019, the Proteas team was eliminated before the knockout rounds of the Cricket World Cup in England.
Two months ago, during a tour of India, the South African team lost all three of its Test matches.