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- CSA Acting Chairman Beresford Williams is under intense pressure to resign after being implicated in another adverse finding in the Fundudzi report.
- CSA met with parliament on Tuesday, where members of the sports portfolio committee broke into the organization regarding the unrest uncovered by Fundudzi.
- The MPs revealed that Fundudzi alleged irregularities in the appointment of former CEO Thabang Moroe to the position in 2018, who did not meet the minimum requirements for the position.
Parliament has asked board members who were implicated in Fundudzi Forensic Services’ report on Cricket South Africa (CSA), notably incumbent President Beresford Williams, to resign while the organization further investigates the report’s findings.
In an explosive four-hour meeting with the parliamentary sports portfolio committee Tuesday, where Williams was asked to leave the virtual meeting as he was implicated in the report, MPs laid out the findings that tainted Williams.
MPs who were well acquainted with the full report, which was delivered to parliament last Friday, questioned the appointment of the now-fired CSA chief executive Thabang Moroe to the post in 2018 after serving for a year.
Parliament revealed that the Fundudzi report found that there were alleged irregularities in the appointment of Moroe by the board on a three-year contract, as he did not meet the minimum requirements for the position.
“In the case of the previous CEO, Moroe, what I saw in the report, I need to know… Moroe did not have the qualifications to become the CEO. I need to understand, how did that slide down the bucket? “asked committee member Willem Faber.
“That is why we sit with the situation in which we sit. We don’t always have to name good guys. I know a lot of nice guys, but you need qualified people and he didn’t have the criteria, the requirements that Cricket South Africa had. [advertised].
“How, then, is it possible for such a person to be named CEO if they didn’t meet the criteria? Those people who allow that to happen must also be hired. “
CSA Risk and Audit Committee Chair Marius Schoeman, who took over as the organization’s keynote speaker following Williams’ ouster, did not dispute the wrongdoing found by Fundudzi in Moroe’s appointment and questioned by Faber.
“Yes, honorable member, you are right,” Schoeman said.
“It is a find that I find amazing. One has minimum requirements and the report also indicates that the ad was different from the job description.
“In my experience, those are things that shouldn’t happen. I must reflect and be honest with you about the report, if you look at page 234, you will see the people who were in the meeting.
“Everyone but Beresford Williams have since quit. That committee was made up of Iqbal Khan, Dawn Mokhobo, Louis von Zeuner, and Tando Ganda. The only member still on the board is Beresford Williams. “
As the last remaining member of the committee that appointed Moroe to the CEO position, Williams has been under intense pressure to resign from the CSA board.
Williams has expressed his plans to run for the vacant CSA presidency, which will be voted on at the AGM scheduled for late November or early December.
However, with the implications in increasing wrongdoing, it is unclear how his position in the besieged organization can remain sustainable.
Williams is also implicated in the Fundudzi report in terms of his participation in the finance committee meeting (FinCom) where he and Khan approved a loan of R5 million to the Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA).
Fundudzi’s summary report read: “Williams was the WPCA President prior to being appointed CSA Vice President and should have identified a potential conflict of interest and refrained from participating in the FinCom meeting that approved the R5 million loan request by WPCA.
“The fact that Williams sat down in the meeting and decided not to participate in the deliberation and approval of the 5 million rand loan to WPCA is proof that he appreciated the fact that he was in conflict. “
In trying to justify the CSA’s decision to keep the board in its current composition until AGM, Schoeman revealed that the Council of Members made the decision (believed to have been made at last Thursday’s meeting) to allow members board members, which also include Donovan May, to stay on the board.
At this meeting, Schoeman said, the non-independent board directors were asked to recuse themselves before the other non-board members of the Board of Members made the decision.
“When the Council of Members decided not to ask the board to resign, it did not include the Council of Members that is serving on the board,” Schoeman said.
“Board members were asked to withdraw from the meeting when the Council of Members made that resolution.
“It is very important that we understand that the board members who came into conflict are definitely not involved in the investigation.
“The only thing they would get involved in is when they pledge to get their side of the story.”
However, MPs did not accept any of this and accused the CSA Council of Members of being the “player and referee” in this situation.
“It is clear from Marius that there is a conflict of interest in the decision to recommend that the board remain in place; that decision is partial and unjustified, “said Tsepo Mhlongo.
“You cannot be part of the Council of Members and the board. There is a conflict at the end of the day. Personally, I do not support that recommendation. You cannot clean yourself. You cannot redeem yourself. You cannot investigate yourself.
“You cannot be a player and a referee. We ask that an independent body take this report, investigate and present recommendations ”.
Faber said: “I also agree with Mhlongo that you cannot have players and referees at the same level.
“I would suggest that the board members who are involved do not participate in their own investigation.”
