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Nathi Mthethwa (Gallo Images)
- The CSA Council of Members needs to “immediately review” its refusal to recognize the Interim Board, says Nathi Mthethwa.
- The minister has warned that he will exercise his powers to take “drastic measures” in resolving the dispute.
- Cooperation, rather than “filibuster tactics,” was required to forge a path toward solving cricket’s problems.
Sports minister Nathi Mthethwa the pressure on Cricket South Africa’s Members Council has been raised in a letter Friday to Acting President Rihan Richards.
The Members Council has refused to acknowledge the Interim Board presented by Mthethwa, to the generally favorable responses from the cricket community, late last month, which could create a dangerous new deadlock in the broader crisis surrounding the sport in the country.
But Mthethwa has said that it is “shocked and deeply disappointed” by the tenor and tone of Richards’s response.
He wrote: “It is a challenge to logic and common sense that in the space of a very short period, I allege a breakdown in the relationship between the Interim Board and the Council of Members.
“It is very revealing that you are not claiming that the relationship has been irretrievably broken; therefore, I would like to think that to the extent that there has been one breakup or another, the relationship can be immediately restored in the best interest of the game. cricket, and in the public interest. “
In a less than veiled warning, Mthethwa recalled that he had “I have not yet exercised my powers of intervention that are granted to me in terms of (the National Sports and Recreation Law)”.
He said that it had not been necessary for him to do so since he had become “It is evident that the game of cricket is in a state of complete disorder, and that my intervention in terms of the Law, would not only be justified but would also be justified”.
Mthethwa said that the game had gone from crisis to crisis almost daily and under the circumstances it would be “In breach of my legal and constitutional duty not to intervene in what is nothing more than the bad governance of a sport that is a national good and that belongs to the people of (South Africa)”.
The Interim Board is chaired by former constitutional judge Zak Yacoob, and Mthethwa said that “By all reports, the announcement of the five (members) was universally well received”.
Added: “There seemed to be a sense of renewed hope that cricket could regain its former glory.”
The Council of Members had objected to the presence on the Board of former CSA CEO and International Cricket Council supreme Haroon Lorgat, citing conflict of interest.
But Mthethwa said in Friday’s letter: “In relation to Mr. Lorgat, the Interim Board had resolved that he would recuse himself from any and all discussions related to the old Global League (T20).
“I find it deeply troubling that the Council of Members is not prepared to accept a solemn commitment from a former Constitutional Court judge who has served this country without fear or favor with much distinction over a period of many years.”
He urged the Council to “Self-reflect and consider your own position regarding the failures of Cricket South Africa over a period of time, before they (piously) accuse others of a ‘conflict of interest.’
Mthethwa said: “I find it very regrettable that you have tried to make the decision not to recognize the Interim Board. I implore you and the Council of Members to review this decision immediately … otherwise I will exercise my powers … I sincerely hope that you don’t need to take such drastic measures.
“[The Interim Board] require your consent and your cooperation; it’s not his filibustering tactics, and he’s trying to thwart the Interim Board from getting to the bottom of what’s rotten in South African cricket. “
Mthethwa said that he had sent a copy of his letter to the ICC for their records.
– Compiled by Sport24 staff
