Sascoc tell ICC they are not taking over cricket in South Africa

Sascoc have written a letter to the ICC clarifying that they are not attempting a takeover of Cricket South Africa but have merely requested the sidelining of the CSA Board and certain executives as they look to assist a federation that has obviously been brought into disrepute and no longer enjoys the confidence of their many stakeholders.

The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee informed CSA this week that they were using their step-in rights to intervene in the governance crisis facing the union, leading to speculation that the move could amount to government interference and could lead to the suspension of the Proteas from international cricket because the ICC’s constitution forbids that.

But in an e-mail sent to the International Cricket Council on Saturday, Sascoc explained their decision to appoint an independent task team to conduct investigations into the administrative, operational and/or financial affairs of CSA and have denied that it is government interference. They remind the ICC of the resignations of directors and that of acting CEO Jacques Faul, as well as CSA’s refusal to make the forensic report into the possible misconduct of their former chief executive, Thabang Moroe, available on an unrestricted basis.

“Given the litany of complaints that has plagued CSA … there can be no doubt that CSA has been brought into disrepute and that its standing among players and ex-players, the media, the public and, most importantly, its stakeholders such as sponsors and the government, has dramatically diminished, resulting in a loss of trust and confidence in the organisation.

“The task team will remain accountable to the Sascoc Board and the Members Council of CSA. There is thus no attempt to place CSA under administration as has been reported. Cricket belongs to its Members and the Sascoc resolution does not disturb that arrangement. What the resolution requires is for the CSA Board and those senior CSA executives who serve it on an ex officio basis to step aside in order to facilitate the work of the task team,” the e-mail signed by acting president Aleck Skhosana said.

As a first step in darning the tear in the fabric of the game at present, Sascoc seem to want to work with the Members Council and their starting point is getting the forensic report released so all the provincial presidents can study it without stringent conditions ahead of an AGM that has been postponed but needs to happen before November 5.

“At no stage did Sascoc act under the direction of the Minister of Sport. Sascoc rejects any allegation that the intervention constitutes government interference. In this regard, we are quite prepared to meet with you and discuss this issue to give you the assurance that the Sascoc intervention is a bona fide attempt to assist one of its members who clearly and desperately needs such assistance.

“CSA’s steadfast refusal to make the forensic report available is puzzling, as it appears that they are unable to self-correct if the report is not made available, not only to its own Members, but also to the media and public at large since it is a public document. CSA (like Sascoc) remains accountable to the public at large since we are public bodies … and are required to act in the public interest,” the e-mail to the ICC said.

CSA’s Board of Directors and the Members Council are meeting over the weekend, with the latter body hopeful that they will finally be able to interrogate the forensic report. In a statement released earlier, Sascoc called the failure to release the forensic report to the Members Council “irrational and unreasonable”.

“The Presidents that form the Members’ Council of CSA have similarly been denied unrestricted access to the forensic report. This is quite ridiculous. The Presidents act on a mandate from their respective boards. How are they expected to obtain a proper mandate from their boards when they are not permitted to share the contents of a report which they commissioned with the members of their board? That is why the refusal to make the report available on an unrestricted basis is both irrational and unreasonable,” Sascoc said.

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