New CSA CEO: cricket needs me
● New Cricket SA (CSA) acting CEO Kugandrie Govender is aware of what she has got herself into by accepting management of the crisis-riddled organisation.
This week CSA announced that Govender will take over from Jacques Faul in a shortterm acting capacity at CSA with immediate effect‚ making her the first woman to lead the organisation.
“To say‚ ‘what have I got myself into?’‚ was something that I asked myself as soon as I said‚ ‘Yes’‚” she said.
“I decided to do the courageous thing and I know that some people will call it dumb‚ madness or stupidity. I chose to believe in the goodness of this sport and the goodness of what it can do in unifying this nation.
“There are hundreds of good people in all the levels of CSA, from coaching volunteers right up to the boardrooms.
“The answer to the question of what have I got myself into came very quickly in the form of my own internal voice that said your organisation and the sport that you love dearly requires you to step up.
“You have a responsibility and you can be part of change that you want to see or you can mourn from the sidelines like millions of South Africans are mourning.”
Govender said high on her agenda is trying to mend all the endangered relationships with stakeholders and ensuring that CSA’s financials are in order.
“As part of the executive, I have been aware of some of the issues. My list of priorities for the next three months is really what anyone coming into the role would have as a list of priorities.
“It is fairly obvious what needs to happen. We have three main things we need to focus on. Those things are not radical — it is going back to basics and putting cricket first.
“There are three concurrent things that are top priorities and the first is to ensure that we nurture relationships again because all our stakeholders are important. We have to improve our relationship with minister of sport Nathi Mthethwa and the parliamentary portfolio committee.
“We have to listen to the minister’s transformation imperatives. Our relationship with the media is exceptionally important and I think we have made some strides in healing it even though there is some way to go.”
Govender said CSA’s image has taken a battering and there was much to repair.
“We all know that it takes massive amounts of time to build trust and a reputation, but it doesn’t take too much to have it all crash to the ground. I am in this position that we have to build it up again and it is not going to happen overnight.
“We are only going to make it if we do what we say, as opposed to just talking and not listening enough.”