- CSA's interim board chair Dr Stavros Nicolaou says that the leaked testimony could likely comprise the Social Justice and Nation-building (SJN) project.
- TimesLive revealed former Proteas fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe's statement, which he gave to CSA's SJN transformation ombudsman Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza this week.
- Cricket SA's transformation hearings was scheduled for this week was postponed until July.
Cricket South Africa's (CSA) interim board has responded to the various media reports and the subsequent postponement of the hearings, which were part of the Social Justice and Nation-building (SJN) project.
CSA revealed that the SJN's hearings, which was scheduled for this week, were postponed until July 2021, as the Ombud for Transformation Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza is "unavailable due to his other commitments".
"To this end, the Board wishes to reconfirm its full support for the Social Justice and Nation-Building process and ultimately the objectives of enhancing and accelerating transformation," read their statement.
"The Board confirms that, at no point, was it seeking to delay a meaningful process in relation to transformation, but rather to postpone by a few days in order to strengthen the process."
The initial postponement was caused when CSA's interim board reacted to a legal letter seeking clarification on the SJN's legal framework from David Becker, who represents CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith and Anti-Corruption Unit chief Louis Cole.
"However, over the past weekend, it became very clear that there were significant legal and fiduciary risks which the Board and the Ombudsman were obligated to consider and manage before the hearing could proceed," continued their statement.
"It was then agreed, with full support from the Ombud, that the proposed hearings for last Monday would be postponed until the board had properly addressed all the risks facing the SJN process, the Ombud and CSA.
"The Board has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that any risk to CSA is mitigated and the Ombud has supported this in the knowledge that the SJN process and CSA needed to be protected. It was on that basis that a statement, confirmed by the Ombud and the Interim Board, was released late on Sunday night."
This comes in the wake of a TimesLive report, which saw former Proteas fast bowler Lonwabo Tstosobe recalling some of the racism he was subjected to as a black player in the Proteas setup.
Tsotsobe, who was banned from cricket due to his alleged involvement in match-fixing, revealed the incidents in his submission to the SJN transformation ombudsman earlier this week.
In his statement, Tsotsobe revealed that his mother was "kicked out" and denied entry to the presidential suite at a stadium with "the suite was full with white families".
Chair of the Board Dr Stavros Nicolaou stated that it was unfortunate to see the testimony leaked as it would likely "comprise" the initiative.
"Regrettably, there has been inaccurate reporting regarding the postponement of the hearings and we have also noted that testimony has been leaked. This is most unfortunate as it will possibly compromise the SJN initiative," said Nicolaou.
"We are confident, though, that the legal advice sought will help the Ombudsman to establish a fair and transparent process for any future hearings and this will mitigate the risk for CSA."