CSA interim board showing Dobermann-like tenacity

Cricket South Africa’s Interim Board have been attacking the problem of the Members Council’s intransigence with Dobermann-like tenacity over the last week and there are hopes that next week will bring a reconvened meeting of the provincial presidents and a revote that sees the new Memorandum of Incorporation for the permanent board passed.

Last weekend the Members Council rejected the proposed MoI that would have implemented the recommendations of the Nicholson Commission, specifically having a board made up of a majority of independent directors, chaired by one of the independent directors.

The Interim Board has spent this week engaging with the provincial boards and have discovered that the 8-6 vote against an independent board may not have been an accurate reflection of the actual wishes of the delegates.

In their discussions it has also emerged that there were misunderstandings over the definition of an “independent” director, in some cases because of misinformation from the provincial president sitting on the Members Council.

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“The Interim Board has engaged with the affiliate unions and they have found an open mind. It seems there has been some misinformation and they did not understand how a majority independent board would work, with more specific focus on getting cricket people involved,” a source with intimate knowledge of the discussions told The Citizen on Friday.

“There are thousands of cricket-lovers in this country who could be eligible as an independent director.

“It seems some Members Council delegates who are not keen on the change did not motivate the proposals correctly to their own provincial boards. Some false notions were peddled, maybe to try and ensure more seats for the non-independents.

“It also seems that the vote against the MoI may not have been properly recorded because some provinces actually voted yes but wanted more detail.”

One of the arguments put forward against the new MoI is Sascoc policy that states members are to have boards comprising a majority of non-independent directors. But it is believed the Interim Board are willing to face down Sascoc as well if they do not allow the composition of CSA’s board to change.

The Interim Board are banking on the fact that Minister of Sport Nathi Mthethwa backs the changes and that Sascoc themselves are yet to decant the recommendations of the Zulman Commission, which called for a larger independent component on their own board, into their governance and management structures.

The Interim Board have pleaded with the provinces to not force Mthethwa into showing his teeth.

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