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By Stuart Hess 
9h ago
JOHANNESBURG – Cricket South Africa drew the ire of Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa when its Acting Chairman, Beresford Williams, wrote to the Minister saying that he had no right to intervene in the affairs of Cricket SA.
Williams’ letter, dated October 9, refers to a meeting the CSA Board held with Mthethwa three days earlier, in which the minister asked the Board to step aside so that Sascoc’s plans for a task force to investigate administrative problems at CSA can do their job.
In a furious reply from Mthethwa, sent to Williams on Monday, he reminds Williams that under the National Sports and Recreation Act of 1998, he in fact has the authority to act against federations.
“I want to point out that my role as Minister responsible for Sport, Art and Culture involves ensuring that the existing machinery for managing sports disputes is invoked in terms of Sascoc’s mandate, whenever it appears that some of its affiliates are incorporating their sport into disrepute” wrote Mthethwa.
On Wednesday, Mthethwa’s office said it would intervene at CSA and gave the federation until October 27 to tell it why it shouldn’t. Among the powers available to him under the law is to ask President Cyril Ramaphosa to establish a commission of inquiry into CSA and its affairs.
In Monday’s letter to Williams, Mthethwa reminds CSA that it was not so long ago that the government created a commission of inquiry into South African cricket.
“May I remind you that the government, at its own expense, initiated the Nicholson Commission to help CSA with its governance deficiencies, with some of the recommendations yet to be implemented,” says Mthethwa. “At that time, as we are currently doing, the government was not accused of interference even by the ICC with which it appears to be threatening us.”
Williams, singled out at least twice in Fundudzi’s forensic report, including for his role as part of the selection committee that appointed Thabang Moroe as CEO, despite Moroe not having the necessary qualifications, had objected to support from Mthethwa to Sascoc, in particular. the minister’s call for him and other members of the CSA Board to resign.
“We confirmed that, during the course of the meeting on Tuesday (October 6), you told CSA representatives that you require CSA Board members to ‘resign’, which we understand to mean you want the CSA members of the CSA Board to voluntarily resign from office and cease to serve as CSA directors, ”said Williams.
“The CSA Board members have now had an opportunity to consider your request to ‘resign’. Each of them is of the opinion that they will not “resign” unless they are duly removed from office in accordance with the applicable provisions of the CSA Memorandum of Incorporation. They are of the opinion (and have been informed) that you have no power, in terms of the National Sports and Recreation Act 110 of 1998, to require CSA Board members to “resign.”
Furthermore, we are of the opinion that such a requirement is likely to constitute government interference in the governance, regulation and / or administration of CSA, as contemplated in the International Cricket Council (ICC) memorandum of association and, as such, interferes with the contractual obligations of CSA. CSA. to the ICC and jeopardizes CSA’s continued membership in the ICC. “
“Under the circumstances, we are required to respectfully notify you that the CSA Board members will not comply with your request to ‘resign’. However, we emphasize that we remain committed to addressing and remediating the problems that have been identified in CSA’s management and operations, ”Williams added.
In his response, to that particular assessment, Mthethwa wrote: “My recollection of what I said at the meeting was that I ‘agree’ with Sascoc’s requirement that the CSA Board must resign and leave room for a Work Team to be appointed “.
The ICC said on Wednesday it was monitoring the situation and said it “encouraged” its affiliates to resolve issues with their governments. The players’ union, SA Cricketers Association, demanded that the current CSA board of directors resign.
“As we have said previously, CSA is not capable of self-correcting, and the intervention of the Government is further proof of this,” said Saca President Omphile Ramela.
Mthethwa outlined seven reasons to get involved in CSA’s “leadership lapses,” including; that CSA has an “unstable board”, public complaints from Saca, former players and former board members, the composition of the senior staff and the failed handling of the forensic audit report.
“As a farewell, I wish to reiterate that I will not be deterred from applying what the National Sports and Recreation Act 110 of 1998 orders me to do,” concludes Mthethwa.
@shockerhess
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