CSA AGM postponed due to quotas
● Two recommendations by sports, arts and culture minister Nathi Mthethwa at Monday’s meeting with Cricket SA informed the postponement of the organisation’s AGM which was scheduled for yesterday.
Sunday Times understands that, at the meeting, the minister took issue with the fact that CSA had not met its quota of independents that are stipulated in the 2012 Nicholson report compiled by retired judge Chris Nicholson in the aftermath of the 2009 Indian Premier League bonus scandal that not only led to an inquiry but also the exit of then long-serving CEO Gerald Majola.
Another matter Sunday Times understands was raised by the minister at the meeting was the lack of women representation on CSA. The 12-person board has only three women.
One of those women is Zola Thamae from Free State Cricket who has completed her term and won’t be returning to board service when the AGM eventually takes place.
Attempts to get comment from the ministry drew a blank.
Only one of CSA’s 14 provincial affiliates is headed by a woman in Anne Vilas at the Central Gauteng Lions.
At the AGM, the embattled cricket mother body was supposed to elect a new president to replace Chris Nenzani and non-independent board members to fill gaps of non-independent directors whose terms had come to an end.
Nenzani had resigned on August 17 after a seven-year spell that also included a year’s extension as his two three-year terms came to an end last year.
Vice-president Beresford Williams has acted in his place since his unexpected exit on a day that acting CEO Jacques Faul also resigned. On Monday, CSA cited the review of the governance model of CSA on the outstanding matters recommended by the 2012 Nicholson report and the outstanding forensic report as the key reasons for the postponment. CSA’s members’ council, their decision-making body, hasn’t seen the report.
Judge Nicholson, whose throwing out of former president Jacob Zuma’s corruption trial in 2008 was the catalyst of events that led to Thabo Mbeki’s resignation as president in September of that year, said his recommendations for an independent-heavy board were in the best interests of the organisation and it would be disappointing if they didn’t act on them.
“I stand by what I recommended and if they departed from it, then I’d be very disappointed. At the time, I went into matters as thoroughly as I could and I made those recommendations because I thought that was the best way for CSA to get out of its problems at the time,” Nicholson said.
“If they haven’t complied with those, I’d be disappointed and I think that’s one of the reasons as to why they’ve gone off the rails so badly.”
Nicholson said his recommendations were based on reducing provincial-based decisions on the board as independents won’t hold sway through parochial interests when making decisions.
“What happens with local unions is that they only think of PR their provinces and they can get motivated by parochial interests a bit too much. They’ve got to think of the wider interests of the game. There’s the need to promote the game at every level, including grassroots cricket for better opportunities,” Nicholson said.