CSA reform and a fresh start on the cards

The announcement of Heyneke Meyer as the new Springbok coach on Friday overshadowed another important day for Cricket South Africa (CSA), with it being the last of oral submissions to the sports ministry’s inquiry into the bonus saga that has afflicted the organisation.

Judge Mervyn King, South Africa’s authority on corporate governance, while not taking sides during his testimony, suggested that a board should maintain a majority of independent directors to ensure impartial and effective decision making. Listening in the room, it sounded like a smart advice, and while his testimony didn’t last longer than 40 minutes, it confirms where the wind is blowing.

It confirmed the suspicion that CSA could do with some restructuring.

Ali Bacher, during his testimony the week before, referred to the review that took place in Australia after they got thrashed by England in the Ashes over the course of the 2010/2011 summer. What the review recommended was a restructuring of the Cricket Australia board, where effectively the states (read provinces) are to vote to reduce their own influence, a startling move considering the draining influence of parochialism.

It is a problem, as the hearings have gone on and we have learned more about the internal structures, that appears to affect Cricket South Africa. Provincial representatives at CSA have the difficult task of balancing their region’s interest with that of the country.

Politically speaking, it’s a tightrope since the wrong decision for your region but the right one for the country could mean a pink slip upon said representative’s return to his or her region. It represents a conflict of interest, the very source of where CSA’s problems started back in 2009.

The commission’s final report is to be released around the end of February. While it would be assumptive to say it is a definite, given the general drift of the commission and what has been aired, it would not come as a surprise if they recommended that CSA be structurally changed.

The fate of current CSA CEO Gerald Majola would also be of interest to those concerned.

Testimony from former CSA presidents Norman Arendse and Mtutuzeli Nyoka showed divisions within the organisation, or at least, they believed so. Former chief operating officer Don McIntosh, one of the beneficiaries of the undisclosed bonuses, left CSA before the commission was formed.

That might have been a wise thing to do, as Majola’s position looks to have become tenuous as the hearings have gone on.

Will he stay or will he go? Probably the latter. While the committee lacked the power of cross examination, and their report is only recommendations to sports minister Fikile Mbalula, there is too much blood in the water for no action to be taken.

The end of February is going to be a very important time for South African cricket, and its future.