CSA’s Members Council accepts independence of board, chairperson

Cricket South Africa’s Members Council have seemingly accepted that the board should be chaired by an independent director.

This sticking point has now finally been resolved and according to a statement issued late Friday by the ministry of sport, the cricket body can now move forward and adopt a revised Memorandum of Incorporation that will “hopefully”, said the ministry, be adopted at the next Annual General Meeting, scheduled for later this month.

The CSA Members Council has been at loggerheads with the interim board about the independence of the board and its chairperson, angering Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa, who gave the Members Council additional time to speak to their relevant unions and find a way forward for the cricket body.

The ministry announced late Friday that the Members Council had reconsidered their position on the “desirability of both an independent chairperson as well as a board that comprises a majority of independents”.

In welcoming the response, Mthethwa said: “I congratulate CSA through the acting president and the interim board for this positive act of putting cricket first.

“As has been my position since the appointment of the interim board, I regard this breakthrough as the end of my involvement in the current process.

“As the two points of difference were the main obstacles threatening the April 2021 AGM, I have no doubt that the requisite numbers needed to adopt the MOI by the AGM will be achieved.

“The ball is now in the hands of these two parties.” – Jacques van der Westhuyzen