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Cricket South Africa (CSA) independent director Dheven Dharmalingam has resigned and the entire board is also expected to follow in his footsteps and resign in the coming days.
TimesLIVE may reveal that Dharmalingam informed CSA company secretary Welsh Gwaza of its agreement to resign after a board of members meeting on Thursday resolved to dissolve the entire board. It is not yet clear whether the order from the council of members extends to executive management or not.
The powerful council of members, the highest decision-making body, made up of 12 affiliate presidents and the president and vice president of the CSA, finally put their foot down and ordered the entire board to do the honorable and resign.
TimesLIVE is informed that Dharmalingam resigned in anticipation of the inevitable after it became clear that the CSA board was on its way to the exit door. This came when the council of members asked the board, including CSA interim president Beresford Williams, to withdraw from Thursday’s meeting.
That put the writing firmly on the wall and pushed Dharmalingam over the edge. TimesLIVE was unable to contact Dharmalingam, but managed to obtain a copy of his communication for the board and Gwaza.
It said: “In accordance with the recommendation [by members council] taken last night [on Thursday]‚I would like the company secretary [Gwaza] advise the council of members on my behalf as follows:
“After last night’s Board meeting, I have not engaged with any director or anyone associated with CSA to make the following commitment.
“I note that my appointment as an independent director is until the next General Meeting, which will be no later than December 5, 2020.
“I hereby confirm my agreement to resign as an independent director, if the membership council, in its deliberations, believes this is in the best interest of CSA,” said Dharmalingam.
Dharmalingam seems to have made the decision with great regret.
“I remain committed to CSA, and I await the final resolution of the council of members,” the letter read.
Dharmalingam was appointed independent director in May this year along with Dr. Eugenia Kula-Ameyaw and Vuyokazi Memani-Sedile as independent members of the board of directors.
The trio was supposed to serve until the General Shareholders’ Meeting, which was scheduled for September, but the crisis that has affected the organization has caused the elective meeting, where they would have been eligible for re-election, to be postponed to December.
CSA did not respond to inquiries to confirm Dharmalingam’s resignation at the time of publication. This article will be updated with CSA’s response as soon as it is available.
CSA’s leadership was already on edge with pressure to give up on stakeholders and the relentless public.
Sascoc (the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee) had tried to intervene, but the defiant hierarchy of the CSA, under the polarizing figure of interim President Beresford Williams, remained steadfast in its rebellious behavior against the country’s sleeping watchdog.
The fight led to Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa stepping in and giving the CSA leadership until Tuesday, October 27, to submit written statements on why the ministry should not intervene in its affairs.
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