The role of CEO of Cricket South Africa could go to one of three frontrunners, after an inquiry into a huge bonus scandal found that the current chief executive, Gerald Majola, could face criminal charges and should be suspended as a result.
The government-initiated inquiry, headed by retired Judge Chris Nicholson, released its findings at the end of last week, after about four months of gathering evidence and calling witnesses to the stand. The 4.7-million rand ($AUD 591,000) bonus scandal centres around the way in which bonus money was paid to CSA staff after South Africa hosted the Indian Premier League and ICC Champions Trophy in 2009.
Though Majola had in fact been cleared prior to the Nicholson inquiry by an CSA internal disciplinary hearing (the Khan Commission), the judge found that Majola had “surreptitiously” received bonus payments totalling R1.78 million, and that there was a “prima facie case that he had contravened the Companies Act.”
This despite an earlier report by auditing company KPMG that had made several recommendations to CSA that it improve its record-keeping and be guided by the rules of the Companies Act.
“These matters should be referred to the office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions for (possible) prosecution,” Nicholson told a news conference after handing the report over to South Africa’s sports minister Fikile Mbalula, who ordered the inquiry. CSA says it will study the findings before acting on the report.
However, the patience of some of South Africa’s international players, who are contracted to CSA and who initially backed Majola, is apparently wearing thin. One of Majola’s staunch backers was Test captain Graeme Smith, who remarked when the scandal surfaced that Majola had always backed the team to the hilt.
But that mood has now changed, and according to the Mail and Guardian, the SA Cricketers’ Association said on Saturday that CSA must adopt the recommendations of the Nicholson inquiry as a matter of urgency in order to restore stakeholder and public confidence in the administration of the game.
The CSA board will meet on Saturday to discuss the way forward regarding Majola. The embattled CEO was in fact on cricketing business at International Cricket Council headquarters in Dubai when the findings were made public. Majola, who returned on Monday from Dubai, will apparently only comment once he has studied the report’s findings in its entirety.
Among the frontrunners to take over at Cricket SA is Haroon Lorgat, whose contract as the CEO of the ICC ends in June. That said, CSA may have to find someone sooner than that.
Added SACA’s Tony Irish in a statement, “The players have been patient throughout a long and unhappy period of instability but now that there are clear recommendations we expect the CSA board to act immediately and decisively.”
The retired judge Nicholson was critical of CSA administrators who sought to protect Majola – especially in the internal Khan Commission – since allegations surfaced a year ago that the cricket boss received weighty bonuses from the Indian Premier League which he failed to disclose to the board.
Nicholson also called for the South African Revenue Service to investigate the administration’s Section 21 status and check whether it complied with the requirements warranting tax breaks.
The report also found that Majola had “failed to inform [CSA’s then-president Mtutuzeli] Nyoka of his own negotiated bonus, arranged with the IPL and also refrained from providing Nyoka and members of the [CSA’s] remuneration committee with the schedule of payments relating to the IPL agreement, thereby misleading Nyoka in the process.”
Nyoka was eventually given his marching orders after a vote of no-confidence from the board, then reinstated following arbitration. However, he would not last much longer in his post, after receiving a second no–confidence vote.
While the Proteas do their utmost to keep the chest of SA cricket bursting with pride, administration of the game is suffering under the weight of the scandal. Recently, organisers of the T20 domestic competition had to hastily secure a sponsor. The 40-over competition prior to that had no sponsor at all.
Cricket SA, after 11th hour negotiations with a cooking oil manufacturer, managed to secure sponsorship for their series against the Australians in January this year.
Whether the board can act decisively in response to the findings this time around remains to be seen. The scandal is a blot on the running of the game in the country, and the sooner it is dealt with, the better it will be for the entire SA cricket fraternity, who have a special bond with the game in this country.
They have already been mistreated, and it’s high team those in the upper echelons of South African cricket realise that those who keep the great game of cricket alive in the country – the fans – deserve better indeed.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.
Australia have sealed victory in the best-of-three one-day international series against South Africa, avenging their upset loss in match two with a rain-affected 110-run…
South Africa closed an extraordinary see-saw first day of the second and final Test against India at Newlands on 3-62 in their second innings,…
The imminent death of Test cricket has been discussed for decades. From the inception of Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket in 1977 to Andrew…
Debutant left-arm pacer Nandre Burger claimed 4-33 as India crashed to a stunning defeat against South Africa on day three of the first Test.…
24 years ago, at Edgbaston, Australia and South Africa locked horns for the most famous ODI in history, ending with scores tied on a…
South Africa have seen off a spirited fightback from Afghanistan to win by five wickets with 15 balls to spare in their final World…
