CSA board suspends Moroe … but not itself

On yet another dramatic day for South African cricket, Cricket South Africa’s board on Friday belatedly acted on its governance meltdown by suspending CEO Thabang Moroe.

In a letter sent to staff, the embattled decision-making group of the federation noted that it would do so on a “precautionary” basis after two separate reports – from its ethics committee and risk & audit committee – revealed alleged “serious misconduct”.

The allegations relate to a “possible failure of controls in the organisation”.

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As a result, the board – who heeded calls from various quarters, including the South African Cricketers Association (Saca) and major sponsor Willowton Group – will “conduct a forensic audit of critical aspects of the business and the conduct of management related to such aspects shall be conducted by an independent forensic team”.

It furthermore called on all relevant stakeholders “including sponsors, members of staff, players, volunteers and cricket fans to allow this process to unfold” and  “will provide updates on this matter”.

While the course of action is a step in a right direction, it’s unlikely that Saca in particular will be wholly satisfied as the players union on Friday called on the board itself to be disbanded as well as it is believed to be complicit in Moroe’s controversial management of the federation.

“It is abundantly clear that there is no confidence, from any quarter amongst cricket stakeholders, in the CSA Board.  No one on the board can say that he, or she, was unaware of what has been unfolding over at least the last year.  It has all been happening, in many respects even publicly, under the board’s very nose, and in some instances with board support,” said Saca chief, Tony Irish.

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Irish’s stance has been echoed by various other administrators, current and former, who argue Moroe was ultimately accountable to the board.

Nonetheless, Moroe’s suspension at least spared him the potential ignominy of being voted out by CSA’s 14-province member’s forum, of which eight affiliates supported a motion of no confidence at a planned meeting later on Friday.

With the federation now in limbo,  the board “has mandated the chairman to look at various options including holding discussions with Mr. Dave Richardson, the former CEO of the International Cricket Council (ICC), regarding the appointment of an acting CEO”.

The board itself was rocked earlier this week by the resignations of Shirley Zinn and Iqbal Khan, two independent directors.

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