Interim board takes 3 drastic steps to clean up CSA

Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) interim board has taken three further drastic steps in its bid to fulfill its mandate and restore confidence in CSA and the organisation’s structures.

In a media statement on Tuesday, the interim board, which was assembled on the instruction of Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa and chaired by Judge Zak Yacoob, took action after studying the Fundudzi report.

The Fundudzi report was compiled following an investigation into reports of poor corporate governance and maladministration at the organisation between 2016-2019.

In recent months, CEO Thabang Moroe has been dismissed, while the CSA board and its members’ council stepped down en masse.

In the stand-out revelation in the statement, company secretary Welsh Gwaza has been suspended and will face a disciplinary hearing on December 14 on grounds of alleged misconduct.

The full statement reads as follows:

The CSA Interim Board can announce that its investigation emanating from the Fundudzi report into allegations of poor corporate governance and maladministration within CSA is well under way.

As a result of  our ongoing investigations the Interim Board has taken the following steps:

1.The Board has  through CSA’s recently appointed attorneys (Dingley Marshall Inc.), terminated the services provided by CSA’s public relations independent contractor, PR Worx CC, with immediate effect.

2.The Board has (also through CSA’s attorneys) delivered a notice of breach to CSA’s outsourced Human Resources service provider, People Link (Pty) Ltd. The breach arises out of People Link having appointed Ms Chantel Moon as its representative to fulfil CSA’s HR function.

As has been revealed in the Fundudzi Report (released by the Interim Board on 25 November 2020), various material procedural irregularities took place when People Link was appointed by CSA’s erstwhile CEO, Mr Thabang Moroe. The Fundudzi Report has also revealed that Ms Moon lacks CSA’s minimum qualification requirements for the HR position. People Link has therefore been afforded 48 hours to remedy its breach by appointing a properly qualified representative, in accordance with the terms of CSA’s service agreement with People Link.

3.The Board has delivered a notice of disciplinary hearing to CSA’s company secretary, Mr Welsh Gwaza, regarding various allegations of misconduct against him. The hearing is to take place on 14 December 2020, when Mr Gwaza will be allowed to answer the charges which have been laid against him. Mr Gwaza has been suspended with full pay pending the determination of the disciplinary hearing.

The Interim Board remains committed to fulfilling its mandate and restoring confidence in CSA and its structures. The steps set out above have been taken to this end. Due to the sensitive nature of these actions CSA will make no further comment at this stage. Finally, we wish to say that these decisions were taken after serious consideration and debate during which differences of opinion were aired.