Cape Town - The Blue Bulls Rugby Union (BBRU) will appoint an interim president within the next few weeks to replace Gert Wessels.
Wessels handed in his resignation over the weekend after a section within the union tabled a motion of no confidence in him, citing his "reckless behaviour" outside his mandate which "ruined" the union financially.
Eugene Hare, CEO of the BBRU, told Netwerk24 that a meeting will be held within the next 14 days to appoint an interim president.
Wessels became president of the BBRU in November 2014 and his term was due to expire in November this year.
The interim president will remain in the position until the end of the year before a new president is elected for the next four years.
Wessels's resignation came after a report surfaced last week that the union’s professional arm, the Blue Bulls Company (Pty) Ltd (BBC), was struggling to keep head above water.
Netwerk24
reported that Wessels - who was the president of the amateur arm, the
BBRU - allegedly made several unauthorised loan transfers from the
union’s funds to the BBC, but the payments appeared to be in arrears.
The report further stated that the BBC was close to being declared bankrupt and was surviving on more loans and favours.
An
initial loan worth R8.43 million from the BBRU to the BBC was supposed
to be paid off by February 2017 but the professional arm had failed to
do so.
The report also stated that Hare approved an unauthorised loan of R5 million to the BBC. By doing this,
the BBRU also signed a surety for R7.5 million of the BBC’s other
outstanding debt.
Wessels has subsequently resigned but has maintained his innocence and said that the union - as an equal shareholder - has a responsibility to finance the company pro rata.
"I
decided to step down, but to single me out as the scapegoat is unfair
and vindictive. As soon as the shareholders' agreement was signed in
1998 - long before I took office as president - it became the union's
responsibility to finance the company," Wessels said.
"For as
long as the union has a 50 percent share in the company, its management
has to look after the company's best interests. These decisions were not
made by me alone, but collectively in the relevant management
divisions.”
