CAPE TOWN – Sports minister Nathi Mthethwa has described the standing down of the Cricket South Africa board as progress and said the government would not hesitate to intervene again if it felt the need to.
This was the first time the minister was reacting to the news which broke on Sunday afternoon that independent and non-independent directors, including acting president Beresford Williams, had tendered their resignations.
“I’ve just heard rumours that they’ve resigned. In fact, that’s what I said they should do to start with,” Mthethwa said from the Eastern Cape on Monday.
“The ultimatum I put for tomorrow – October 27 – was precicely for that. So if they’ve done that, they’ve done what thy were supposed to do,” said the minister. “From here, it will take everything because we are where we are today because of a lack of leadership. So if they’ve realised that, then it’s progress.
According to the minister, the resignation would now allow the focus to go back to the field, which he felt had been neglected due to poor leadership by the country’s cricket governing body.
“We want people who are going to take the game to the next level. We’ve said that right from the beginning. We have no business in running cricket or any sporting code.
“We want sports people, administrators to run sport, but if they engage in misgovernance, if they engage in areas where there is total breakdown in terms of leadership, we will have no choice but to intervene.”
CSA have until the close of business on Tuesday to present Mthethwa with their plans for an interim steering committee in conjunction with Sascoc and Saca in a bid to avoid any government interference into their affairs.
LISTEN: Independent Media senior cricket writer Zaahier Adams chats about the current spate of resignations at Cricket South Africa.
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