- Cricket South Africa's interim board said they'll be meeting the organisation's member's council on Saturday in an attempt to resolve a dispute regarding the composition of the future board.
- The parties met on Tuesday, where the members' council couldn't agree with the interim board with regards to an independent heavy board.
- The member's council is CSA's highest decision-making body.
Cricket South Africa’s interim board has stopped short of declaring a stand-off with members' council with regards to the composition of CSA's new board.
In a statement, the interim board said they met with the members' council on Tuesday where they discussed the composition of CSA’s board that should run along the lines of the Nicholson report of 2012 which said CSA's board should comprise a majority of independent board members.
In the statement, the interim board said the members' council baulked at the idea of having an independent heavy board that will run CSA's affairs.
"At the joint meeting, the IB and the Members' Council discussed, inter alia, the composition of a future Board. A non-negotiable principle for the IB is that any future Board is constituted of a majority of independent members. This is a universally accepted principle of good corporate governance and best practice not only in South Africa but around the world. It is also a core recommendation of the Nicholson Report of 2013," the statement said.
"There was disagreement between the IB and Members’ Council, specifically on the concept of having a majority independent Board."
The statement though said the interim board and the members' council will meet again on Saturday to see whether common ground can be found with regards to the members' council agreeing to the putting together of a majority independent CSA board.
In an exclusive interview with Sport24 last week, interim board chairperson Stavros Nicolaou admitted that they had faced resistance in their move to shore up CSA's governance structures by installing an independent board.
"Has the assignment been tough? It has been," Nicolaou told Sport24 at the time.
"When you go into an organisation that is entrenched in a particular way, there are often bad habits.
"When you try and change those, you get pockets of resistance. Sometimes, there are pockets of resistance that are significant. Am I surprised? I am not surprised.
"Have there been pockets of resistance? Definitely. Even as I speak to you there are, and you must work through those when you’re looking at fundamental change, something our country goes through.
"Are these processes easy? They never are and very often, it’s the last kicks of the dying horse."
Here is the statement in full:
The Interim Board (IB) met last night after a joint meeting with the Members’ Council on Tuesday evening, 16 March, 2021 to discuss the proposed amendments to the Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI) of Cricket South Africa (CSA).
The Minister of Sports, Art and Culture, the Honourable Nathi Mthethwa, has provided the IB with a clear mandate to restore the reputation of cricket in South Africa and internationally. In addition- and key to this- is the restoration of good governance within the game. The IB has been clear in accepting its mandate and has always been committed to implementing the mandate given to it by the Minister and endorsed by the Members’ Council on behalf of the people of South Africa.
At the joint meeting, the IB and the Members’ Council discussed, inter alia, the composition of a future Board. A non-negotiable principle for the IB is that any future Board is constituted of a majority of independent members. This is a universally accepted principle of good corporate governance and best practice not only in South Africa but around the world. It is also a core recommendation of the Nicholson Report of 2013.
Arguably, cricket finds itself in the current quagmire of dysfunction because of a lack of independence of the Board. The past failures of good governance and accountability at CSA has led to a regression of our international standing as a cricket-playing nation and our ability to influence the running of the game globally.
The IB, therefore, stresses that cricket cannot afford to retain its governance status quo.
There was disagreement between the IB and Members’ Council specifically on the concept of having a majority independent Board.
The Members’ Council agreed to reconsider their position and revert to the IB at a final meeting to be held on Saturday 20 March 2021.
The IB is confident that it will find the necessary common ground and understanding with the Members’ Council to ensure that sound governance prevails in the future.
This is undoubtedly in the best interests of cricket in South Africa.