Johannesburg – Gerald Majola was a liar and a conniving manipulator whose continued employment by Cricket South Africa (CSA) would do the organisation and cricket in SA irreparable damage, a hearing has found.
In a scathing account of latter stages of Majola’s tenure as CSA’s chief executive, Karel Tip SC, who chaired the disciplinary hearing into illegitimate bonuses paid to Majola, highlighted how Majola attempted to use his position at CSA to line his pockets while also viciously dismissing critics who questioned his conduct.
Tip ordered that Majola be dismissed, having found him guilty of all nine charges, that included illegally being paid bonuses for the 2009 IPL and the ICC Champions Trophy and his illegitimate claims for travel expenses.
A total of R4.7 million in bonuses was paid to CSA’s senior administrative staff – R1.4m of which went to Majola.
Majola withdrew from the hearings last week, choosing instead to approach the Labour Court, where he has applied to invalidate the disciplinary hearing and the Nicholson Inquiry, which recommended it.
This week his lawyer, Phumezo David, said the hearing and its decisions “doesn’t concern us”.
”Despite many opportunities, Mr Majola failed to disclose the bonus when he had a clear and ongoing duty to do so,” Tip said in the report, made public yesterday.
When the Gauteng Cricket Board (GCB) first highlighted concerns about the contract with the IPL, Majola, says Tip, “not only allowed but encouraged a destructive disagreement to be fomented between CSA and the GCB, whilst he knew full well that it was premised on a dishonest assertion by him that he had received no money at all from the IPL for himself.”
“In general, his conduct in relation to the bonuses, his continued denial of any wrongdoing, his active part in events that have brought disruption and division within cricket, and his avoidance of a prompt resolution of the matter through due and prescribed processes, have materially contributed to bringing CSA – and the sport of cricket in this country – into disrepute. In general, the CEO is the public face of the organisation. He has to project and uphold the integrity and character of CSA. Mr Majola has done the opposite and this has dealt a heavy blow to CSA and to cricket.”
Among the most damning entries in Tip’s report comes from the stand-in chief executive, Jacques Faul, who said if Majola remained at CSA, it would damage the organisation’s ability to attract sponsors.
“The drawn-out and unresolved allegations about Mr Majola having irregularly received bonus payments and travel benefits have had a serious impact on [attracting sponsors].
“Potential sponsors will simply not enter into arrangements where there is a risk that their name or brand will become tarnished as a result of a situation arising that is comparable to that which has arisen out of Mr Majola’s conduct.
“Such sponsors will not support CSA if he were to remain in office.”
“Mr Majola has… dealt a heavy blow to CSA and to cricket,” Faul told Tip.
In assessing Majola’s conducted, Tip finds: “Coursing through them all is an element of dishonesty which has presented itself in various ways, ranging from deliberate concealment to the uttering of outright lies and the abuse of travel expense privileges. The conduct underpinning the complaints also have this in common: they were directed towards securing financial benefits for Mr Majola to which he was not entitled, at the expense of his and with manifest disregard for the fiduciary duties that he owed CSA.”
Majola’s application to the Labour Court is expected to be heard next year.
Meanwhile, CSA finds itself in another legal battle after Norman Arendse lodged a complaint with the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) which ostensibly said CSA had blocked him from becoming one of the five independent members chosen for the new board of directors this week.
However CSA’s stand-in president, Willie Basson said the organisation was more than happy to fight Arendse’s claims that the rules pertaining to who could serve as independent directors were changed at the last minute to prevent Arendse from serving on the Board.
“At the start of the process it was re-confirmed to the Nominations Committee (the independent body tasked with finding independent directors) that the independent directors had to have had no association with cricket for the preceding three years,” said Basson. Arendse is an honorary lifetime member of the Western Province Cricket Association.
“The (CSA) Board were very specific about having that non-association clause, and that rule had been applied to other candidates who were among the original 70 nominated for the independent positions.”
“CSA have held 10 board meetings this year, normally it’s only three or four, precisely because we wanted to ensure that the credibility of this process was not tainted.”
Basson said he had documented proof – including minutes of the board meetings – where the non-association clause had been highlighted to the Nominations Committee.
“There is no substance to these allegations (about attempting to block Arendse’s path), we will fight them,” said Basson. – Saturday Star