Crisis averted as CSA, Members' Council reach 'historic' pact

JOHANNESBURG: The Members' Council (MC) and the Interim Board of Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Monday reached an agreement on a new governance structure, thus averting a proposed ministerial intervention which would have given the reins of the sport in the hands of the government.

Had the agreement for the new governance structure not been reached, the South African sports minister would have de-recognised Cricket South Africa (CSA), and the national cricket body would have lost the right to select national teams or hand out national colours.

For long there had been a stalemate between MC and IB. Since last year, an interim CSA board put in place by the government had been at loggerheads with the MC -- the highest decision-making authority in the organisation -- which was affecting the sport in the country.

On Monday, both the dissenting groups met to deal with outstanding issues related to amending CSA's Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI).

Speaking on behalf of the CSA Interim Board its chairman Stavros Nicolaou said, "Today we reached an important milestone, and I am delighted that the Members' Council and the (Interim) Board reached an agreement on a new governance structure.

"The MC and the CSA Interim Board are pleased to announce that a crisis has been averted and agreement has been reached on all outstanding issues. This agreement will now trigger an expedited process to adopt the MOI within 48 hours. By reaching this agreement, cricket in South Africa has adopted a governance model which is best practice both in South Africa and internationally," said Nicolaou.

"We have successfully managed to fulfil the mandate given to us by Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Mr Nathi Mthethwa. We trust that this important agreement will give confidence to all cricket's stakeholders specifically, players, staff, sponsors and all in the country who love the game of cricket. We owed it to our country to find a solution to cricket's governance challenges," added Nicolaou.

The MC acting president, Rihan Richards said, "The Members' Council is pleased to have been part of a thorough and fruitful consultative process today. Today is a historic day for cricket in South Africa and we look forward to being part of a new governance structure for cricket and playing our part in ensuring sound administration of the game we hold so dear. IANS

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