da dobrowin： Mtutuzeli Nyoka has been removed as president of Crickst South Africa (CSA) for the second time this year at a special board general board meeting held in Johannesburg today
da dobrowin： Firdose Moonda15-Oct-2011Mtutuzeli Nyoka has been voted out as president of Cricket South Africa (CSA) for the second time this year at a special board general board meeting in Johannesburg. Nyoka was removed by an “overwhelming majority” after being accused of various misdemeanours, the most serious of which was bringing the organisation into disrepute. Vice-president AK Khan will serve as acting president until August 2012, when the next elections are scheduled.Gerald Majola v Mtutuzeli Nyoka
July 2010 – President Mtutuzeli Nyoka wants an external investigation into the payment of R4.7 million (US$671,428) in bonuses to 40 CSA staff, including chief executive Gerald Majola, after the hosting of the IPL and Champions Trophy in 2009, as they were not passed through the board’s remunerations committee.
August 2010 – CSA sets up an independent review committee to investigate the bonus payments despite Nyoka’s calls for an external inquiry.
November 2010 – The independent committee clears Majola of any wrongdoing but finds that CSA’s corporate governance procedures were to blame and in need of a revamp.
Jan 2011 – Nyoka is asked to resign by CSA for continuing to push for an external investigation and South Africa’s sports minister steps in to try and resolve the conflict.
Feb 2011 – Nyoka is voted out of office for continuing to argue for the possibility of wrongdoing within the organisation.
April 2011 – Nyoka is reinstated as president after the court finds his removal was improper. The court also criticises the reasons for Nyoka’s removal and grants him the right to subject CSA to full financial scrutiny.
May 2011 – Accounting and consultancy firm KPMG is appointed to conduct an external audit in the bonus payments.
July 2011 – The audit report, which has not been released to the public, finds that Majola may have breached the Companies’ Act on four occasions and advises CSA to seek legal advice on how to proceed.
August 2011 – CSA appoint advocate Azhar Bham to provide opinion, which is delivered to the board orally at their AGM and results in a severe reprimand for Majola. CSA also resolves to improve its corporate governance.
September 2011 – Nyoka and his lawyer are informed of the proposal to remove him on September 8, when CSA’s board met at the conclusion of their annual conference.
October 2011 – CSA votes to remove Nyoka again.
Nyoka was not present at the meeting on the grounds of poor health but sent a deposition to be read out in his absence. The CSA board decided that he “was not in a position to offer leadership,” and ousted him with immediate effect. Although they did not disclose the actual count, six of the eleven provinces had, in the past two weeks, made public their decision to support the motion. Gauteng, Free State, Easterns, Eastern Province, Boland and Western Province all issued press releases stating that would vote in favour of the motion. ESPNcricinfo learned that at least one other union would do the same. Only Northerns Cricket Union stated their objection to the motion and indicated that they would vote against it.The decision brings to an end a 16-month saga which has essentially revolved around a battle between CSA chief executive Gerald Majola, and Nyoka. Majola and 39 other staff members received a collective R4.7 million (US$ 671.428) in bonuses after the hosting of the 2009 IPL and Champions Trophy but those payments were not authorised through CSA’s remunerations committee (REMCO) and were picked up as irregularities. Nyoka had repeatedly pushed for an external audit and had already lost one vote of no-confidence and had to win a court battle to be reinstated.KPMG were eventually tasked with looking into CSA’s financial affairs and found that Majola may have breached the Companies’ Act on four counts. They recommended legal advice which resulted in a severe reprimand for Majola. However, the spat between Majola and Nyoka had not cooled, as Nyoka struggled to gain access to various documents.At the conclusion of their annual conference in September, CSA tabled a second motion of no-confidence in Nyoka. They claimed he had breached media protocol, and the Companies’ Act by taking his honorarium in advance, and that they were unhappy with the way he handled press releases. National team manager Mohammad Moosajee also penned a letter saying Nyoka’s conduct would make it difficult for Moosajee to maintain discipline in the team.Nyoka’s tenure has ended 10 months prematurely, and this time there is indication that he will not fight further. Although his lawyer, Bernard Matheson, believes his client will have reason to take CSA back to the courts if he is removed because Matheson has said the grounds are improper, Nyoka appears to have accepted his fate. CSA also do not anticipate another court battle, although Khan said the possibility of it recurring can only be confirmed by Nyoka himself.”You should direct that to Dr Nyoka,” he said at the conclusion of the special general meeting. “All I can say is that I am deeply saddened by all of this. I have never seen anyone take an organisation that they serve voluntarily to court.”CSA have also had to deal with the departure of the REMCO chief, Thandeka Mgodosu, who tended her letter of resignation on Friday. She said she could no longer work with the current board because she believes there is a lack of transparency. Khan said most of the board came to know of her resignation on Saturday morning but are confident they can move on without her.”We have very highly qualified people in positions on REMCO and nothing prevents us from acquiring expertise from outside,” Khan said. With corporate governance and the paying of external and internal bonuses through REMCO a central issue of the ongoing saga, CSA are in the process of appointing a Legal and Compliance Manager and said they are close to announcing who will occupy that post.Also imminent is the announcement of sponsors, who have been reluctant to deal with CSA until the board’s issues have been resolved. Majola confirmed that two deals have been done and will be made public this week. The ongoing T20 series against Australia was forced to be played without a sponsor and CSA gave the naming rights to a charity at no cost. It was seen as a major failing but Khan said the organisation weathered the storm well. “CSA was in a superb financial position to deal with these difficult issues. We also signed a R1.5 billion deal with broadcasters.” Khan said that CSA are willing to “go to every business partner and answer any questions they have in mind.”Transparency is the new buzz-word around CSA, but it will take some time before the public will be convinced that the organisation, and Majola, are free from blame. They hinted at releasing the finalised KPMG report after consulting as a board and obtaining permission from KMPG. Should that happen, it will go some way towards easing concerns. For now, the board has simply acknowledged that they have erred. “We have made mistakes but we love the game and we want to serve the game,” Khan said.
