Sports Minister Mthethwa may withdraw funding and stop officially recognizing CSA as cricket's governing body
firdose moonda
Cricket South Africa will face intervention from the country's Sports Minister Nthi Mthethwa after failing to agree a Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI) setting out the blueprint for a majority independent board. Mr Mthethwa plans to intervene using the National Sport and Recreation Act, which gives him, among other things, the right to withdraw funding and formally derecognize the CSA as cricket's governing body.
This means the CSA can no longer legally run cricket in the country, and the men's, women's and age-group national teams cannot wear the Proteas badge or claim to represent South Africa in international competitions. This means that you will no longer be permitted to do so. This could essentially affect South Africa's schedule. The schedule is currently short, but the men's tour to the West Indies is next scheduled for June.
CSA on the verge of renegotiating TV rights contracts with pay providers super sportsit also means that any action Mthethwa takes could have a significant impact on the willingness of broadcasters to engage with the CSA, and thus the long-term finances of the game.
However, it remains to be seen whether Mthethwa's measures will be that drastic. His office said in a statement Sunday morning that he will “next week take the necessary steps to enforce his rights under the law.”
Mthethwa's next move could also pose complications at the ICC if his actions are seen as government interference. In 2018, when the Zimbabwe Sports and Recreation Board dissolved the Zimbabwe Cricket Board, ZC had alleged interference with the ICC, but was suspended until government sanctions were lifted. It is unclear whether the CSA will take similar action, but Mthethwa has previously written to the ICC explaining the need for the intervention and insisting that it not be considered a violation of ICC rules.
That was in October last year, and since then Mr Mthethwa has installed an interim board at the CSA tasked with stabilizing the governance structure. The interim board has overseen the suspension of several senior staff pending disciplinary proceedings and the restructuring of South Africa's domestic game, but despite signs that member councils are wavering, the majority remain independent directors. We have not been able to get them to agree to a meeting. . On April 10, the Members' Council released a statement saying it had reached an agreement with the Interim Board on MOI and an agreement with the independent Board, but at Saturday's special general meeting only six of the 14 members voted. Five people voted against it and three abstained.
This meant that a majority could not establish an MOI with an independent board framework. Members' councils are reluctant to agree to a majority independent board, despite having agreed to do so in 2012 in the aftermath of the 2012 bonus scandal. The ostensible reason is that they want cricket to be run only by people associated with cricket organizations. , rather than by businessmen from outside. CSA has been embroiled in administrative problems over the past 18 months, replacing three different acting CEOs following Thaban Moroe's suspension and subsequent dismissal for misconduct.
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's South Africa correspondent
