JOHANNESBURG - Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa will “intervene” to resolve the administrative problems at Cricket South Africa unless the federation can give him reasons not to do so.
Mthethwa has given CSA until October 27 to tell him why he should not “exercise his right to intervene,” in its affairs. In the meanwhile there will be no further engagements between his office and CSA.
Mthethwa’s announcement early on Wednesday morning is the culmination of months of back and forth between his office, CSA, the parliamentary portfolio committee and the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee.
Cricket SA’s administration has dissolved into crisis since it suspended Thabang Moroe as chief executive last December.
It then instituted a forensic investigation, the result of which has pushed the administration to the precipice.
Mthethwa has tried to stay out of all the drama, giving responsibility to Sascoc to try and help CSA resolve its problems. But that hasn’t worked and now he is willing to use the ‘Dispute Resolution' clause in the National Sport and Recreation Act of 1998, to step in at CSA.
Section 13 of the Act allows Mthethwa to ask the president of the country to establish a commission of inquiry should all avenues for resolving disputes be exhausted.
Mthethwa last met with CSA on Monday where he once again reiterated his support for Sascoc’s measures - which include creating a task team to investigate CSA, and that senior management officials including company secretary Welsh Gwaza and acting CEO, Kugandrie Govender “step aside.”
“Having evaluated the discussions as well as the subsequent reporting on this matter, I have now reached a point where I see no value in any further engagement with CSA,” Mthethwa said in a statement.
Mthethwa has informed the International Cricket Council of his plans to intervene at CSA. The ICC stipulates that it can sanction a national board, even banning that country from playing internationally, should its government take over the running of the board.
“The ball is now firmly in the court of CSA,” Wednesday morning’s statement concluded.
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