Photo Credit: Cricket South Africa
The Interim Board (IB) met last night after a joint meeting with the Members’ Council on Tuesday evening, 16 March, 2021 to discuss the proposed amendments to the Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI) of Cricket South Africa (CSA).
The Minister of Sports, Art and Culture, the Honourable Nathi Mthethwa, has provided the IB with a clear mandate to restore the reputation of cricket in South Africa and internationally. In addition- and key to this- is the restoration of good governance within the game. The IB has been clear in accepting its mandate and has always been committed to implementing the mandate given to it by the Minister and endorsed by the Members’ Council on behalf of the people of South Africa.
At the joint meeting, the IB and the Members’ Council discussed, inter alia, the composition of a future Board. A non-negotiable principle for the IB is that any future Board is constituted of a majority of independent members. This is a universally accepted principle of good corporate governance and best practice not only in South Africa but around the world. It is also a core recommendation of the Nicholson Report of 2013.
Arguably, cricket finds itself in the current quagmire of dysfunction because of a lack of independence of the Board. The past failures of good governance and accountability at CSA has led to a regression of our international standing as a cricket-playing nation and our ability to influence the running of the game globally.
The IB, therefore, stresses that cricket cannot afford to retain its governance status quo.
There was disagreement between the IB and Members’ Council specifically on the concept of having a majority independent Board.
The Members’ Council agreed to reconsider their position and revert to the IB at a final meeting to be held on Saturday 20 March 2021.
The IB is confident that it will find the necessary common ground and understanding with the Members’ Council to ensure that sound governance prevails in the future.
This is undoubtedly in the best interests of cricket in South Africa.
