The Chairperson of Cricket South Africa‘s (CSA) interim board, Dr Stavros Nicolaou, has described the 30th of April as a historic day that will give the sport of cricket new direction in the country.
The six-month battle between CSA’s members’ council and the interim board is finally over. Sports Minister, Nathi Mthethwa, has also withdrew the gazette notice on Cricket South Africa after many failed attempts to get CSA’s interim board and the members’ council to agree on the revised Memorandum of Incorporation, which is part of the Nicholson Report on the governance of the sport in the country.
CSA agrees to amend its Memorandum of Incorporation:
In their new Memorandum of Incorporation officially signed on Tuesday night, the members’ council has agreed on a new board, consisting of 15 members, with eight independents, five non-independents and two executives. It also allows for the clarity and separation of roles and responsibilities of the board and members council. Dr Nicolaou says the encouraging part is that all attention will now move from the boardroom to the field of play.
“The 30th of April is a historic moment for cricket in our country after many years of trying to implement the Nicholson recommendations. In fact for nine years…in fact we now have a governance structure in place that is world class that we can all be proud of as South Africans and will once against set cricket on different pathway. I think this will start shifting the attention away from the boardroom onto the field which is where it should be,” he told a media briefing on Friday.
CSA president Rihan Richards admits that had the two structures been open and frank with each other from the beginning, all these problems could have been avoided. The new resolutions clearly state that provision should be made for an independent majority board and chairperson, which will also accommodate five non-independent members in a 15 member board.
“It is good to understand each other. One thing that we should realise is the situation we find ourselves in does not led to honest and open talk. One thing that we must take responsibility for as the members’ council and the board was actually we should have tried to engage each other earlier and not operate in silence in different opinions. It’s the lesson we have learnt. I’m glad of the position we are in now,” adds Richards.
Minister of Sport Nathi Mthethwa has been grappling with this issue for a very long time until he appointed an interim board to run the affairs of Cricket South Africa six months ago. Minister Mthethwa is satisfied with the process, and describes it as a victory for all involved in cricket.
“We made it clear that we want transformation and nothing else. And I’m glad that parties have found each other and they are singing from the same hymn book as we force ahead to the AGM. Today it’s victory. The victor here are the players of cricket. The victor here is cricket itself and sport in general. The victor are those parents, those mothers and fathers who have written to me over a period of time asking government to save cricket from itself,” says the Minister.
With proceedings heading back toward business as usual in the corridors of CSA, the governing body is wasting no time in getting the game back on track, announcing their intention to bid for upcoming world cups over the next eight years. The appointment of the board and all the finer details will be ironed out at CSA’s Annual General Meeting on June 12.
