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- The proposed acting chairman of the CSA board, Zak Yacoob, lashed out at the Council of Members.
- The Council of Members refuses to hand over power to the interim board despite instructions from Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa.
- Yacoob says the board remains committed to cleaning up cricket, despite this setback.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) Proposed provisional board, chaired by Judge Zak Yacoob, will continue to do the work entrusted by the Minister of Sports, Nathi Mthethwa, despite not being recognized by the Council of Members of the organization.
In what has quickly become a showdown of epic proportions, the Members Council on Thursday sent shockwaves through South African cricket by refusing to recognize the interim junta and hand over power, effectively ignoring Mthethwa’s clear instructions.
Since then, Mthethwa has expressed disappointment in the Council of Members, threatening further intervention that could put CSA at risk in relation to its position with the ICC.
It seems that everyone involved in South African cricket is of the opinion that the Members ‘Council should step aside and hand over the reins to Yacoob’s independent board, except the Members’ Council itself.
Addressing the media on Friday, Yacoob suspected that the Membership Council’s decision had also been significantly influenced by members of the current CSA executive.
The Council of Members will meet again on Friday evening and if they do not agree to sign on the interim board, then Yacoob believes that South Africa could very well lose its limited series of overs against England to the 50+ world champions. ready to arrive in the country on Monday.
Yacoob was scathing with the Council of Members throughout the press conference, saying that the dealings between the two bodies over the past two weeks since the interim board was unveiled made it clear that CSA was not in a position to self-correct.
Yacoob further committed the independent board, which also includes former CSA CEO Haroon Lorgat, to clean up the game, which has been under a cloud of administrative ruin for more than a year.
“Our approach is that the minister has tasked us with doing a particular cleanup job in relation to cricket. We take our job seriously,” Yacoob said, emphasizing the independence of the board.
“The minister is not going to tell us what to do, but if he makes a suggestion, we will consider it very carefully.
“The Council of Members is not going to tell us what to do either. No one will dictate our action under any circumstances. We will continue our work, although it is difficult for us.
“We want to make sure that the players remain interested, organized and engaged.
“Let’s show that we, who are involved in the game of cricket on a day-to-day basis, can outperform those who are there to tarnish us.”
There has currently been no communication between the interim board and the ICC, which would have to take a position on these matters if Mthethwa compels it and instructs the Council of Members to resign through direct interference.
“It will be sad if the minister has to proceed in terms of the legislation, but that will be the fault of the Council of Members and that is something that the Council of Members must respond to,” Yacoob said.
“I don’t want to mention people’s names, but I would like to confirm that the members of the administration with whom we have reacted have been uncooperative, difficult, insensitive, arrogant and sometimes rude. That has been part of the problem.
“We have been trying to get information from them, trying to hold them accountable and my suspicion is that it is due to management dissatisfaction with the board that they have probably complained to the Council of Members. There is a strong possibility that the Executive he had had a great influence on this decision to exclude the interim board. “
Yacoob said it was accepted in good faith by both the minister and CSA that the interim board had been appointed.
“We believed that the Council of Members would legitimize us, the minister believed that the Council of Members would legitimize us and then they did not,” Yacoob said.
“They broke their promise, and they broke that promise because we, as the proposed board, started interfering too quickly and they felt uncomfortable.”
The interim board will continue to pressure the Council of Members, Yacoob says.
“There is still a lot we can do to link with other organizations, there is a lot we can do to pressure the Council of Members to recognize us, there is a lot we can do to put the administration in a place where they recognize their position more and more.” , said.
“We are going to keep the pressure on at all levels to make sure they pushed to cooperate with us.”
One of the main concerns today is that, with increased participation from Mthethwa, CSA runs the risk of being suspended by the ICC and the governing body of the game makes clear in its constitution that political control of its councils is not accepted. members.
“We express the hope that the ICC understands that the minister is not interfering in cricket affairs,” Yacoob said.
“All the minister did was appoint an independent board and we, as an independent board, are saying that the minister cannot and will not tell us what to do. He did so with everyone’s consent and tried very graciously to put matters in CSA. Right.
“If it is necessary for us to speak to the ICC about this, we will make it very clear that the appointment of the board by the minister does not amount to interference. If CSA sustains that, it will continue its deceptive attitude.”
Regarding the highly publicized report by Fundudzi, which questioned CSA’s administrative leaders over a four-year period dating back to 2016, Yacoob said the interim board had not yet discussed whether to release the findings publicly.
In his opinion, the report should be published, but he admitted that the board had not come to that matter in its two weeks of operation thus far.
“The board is considering releasing it to the public, but the board has not discussed it,” he said.
“I take a chance and tell you my own opinion, which is that there is no reason why, if we remove the names, the report should not be released to the public.”
At its press conference Thursday, the Membership Council, through CSA Acting President Rihan Richards, vowed to clean up its own mess, saying it still had the best interests of the game at heart.
When asked if he believed CSA had that ability in its current state, Yacoob couldn’t have been clearer.
“I have no chance, I’m afraid,” he said.
“Everything that has happened in the last two weeks has told us that they cannot correct themselves but, of course, miracles can happen. In the absence of a miracle, there is no chance.
“There is absolutely nothing personal at all. They just don’t want interference in their affairs. They didn’t want the furniture to move, the cage to vibrate or the garden dug up at this stage.
“If the Council of Members insists that the board be under their control, then there is no possibility for us to work together. This is not the type of board that can be under anyone’s control.”
