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Cricket South Africa (CSA) has presented Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza as an ombudsman for his Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) project which was formally launched at Olympic House, SASCOC, in Johannesburg on Friday.
The announcement is part of the organization’s transformation committee.
According to a statement from the CSA, Ntsebeza will be tasked with “managing an independent complaints system that will observe the healing, restoration and bonding process of cricketers, fans and the nation, beginning with former players.”
Other responsibilities will include the creation of a restoration fund, to address the opportunity cost due to discrimination, and the implementation of the Diversity, Belonging and Inclusiveness (DIBS) program.
Speaking at the formal launch, which took place with just 50 attendees present in line with COVID-19 restrictions, CSA’s Independent Director and President of Transformation, Dr. Eugenia Kula-Ameyaw, said the SJN project was a key step to rectify some of the mistakes of the past.
“This is not only important for cricket, but for the entire nation,” he said.
“It is a national project and we hope that it will help those who have been hurt by discrimination to heal faster. What this means for all of us, for those affected, is that CSA is going in the right direction. It is not enough to talk, but I know it requires action and I believe this is a step in that direction.
“It is also a sign that shows that what may have been conceived as impossible can be considered feasible. I want to believe that as a cricket community we have the ability to find common ground and deal with the pains of the past.”
Advocate Ntsebeza is a renowned public speaker both locally and internationally. A lawyer, advocate and acting judge, among other things, is a former political prisoner, who was imprisoned in 1976.
Ntsebeza, whose SJN ombudsman office will be based at Olympic House in Houghton, served as commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1995. He was appointed chancellor of the University of Fort Hare in January 2017.
CSA Acting President Beresford Williams said: “Today I can boldly say that despite the challenges CSA has faced, we are committed to a new path anchored in the mandate established by the Cricket for Social Justice and Nation Building project.
“We owe it to former players, coaches and administrators, and the general public, to act decisively. We need to make sure that the evils they may have inflicted do not spread to the next generation.”
“As the CSA board of directors, we trust the country and accept responsibility for failing to establish proper channels to report acts of racism and discrimination at the time they occurred. We acknowledge this oversight and apologize to cricket stakeholders with a promise that we will immediately endeavor to remedy what happened in the past. ”
CSA also announced a strong roster of former players as ambassadors for the project. They are Monde Zondeki, Gary Kirsten, Lance Klusener, Geoffrey Toyana, Makhaya Ntini, Marcia Letsoalo, Shandre Fritz, Nolubabalo Ndzundzu and Dinesha Devnarain.
They will help, among other things, identify and map appropriate channels to enhance public awareness of SJN, build relationships with key stakeholders, and help promote unity and reconciliation.
“We need ambassadors, former players and many others to help us with this,” Kula-Ameyaw added.
“We have them with us as part of the project and they are the builders who are part of the process. They will help us to deploy things in all corners of the country and I would like to thank them for accepting this responsibility.”
– CSA Media
