Sports minister Nathi Mthethwa has informed Cricket South Africa (CSA) that he will remove recognition of CSA as the ruling authority for the sport in the country.
In a letter addressed to interim board chair Stavros Nicolaou and CSA’s acting president Rihan Richards on Thursday, Mthethwa said: “I have decided to invoke my powers under the Act and I hereby notify you that I have done so in accordance with s13 (5)(i)-(iii) by defunding CSA and derecognising CSA and I will cause this to be published in the Government Gazette in due course at the earliest opportunity.”
The removal of recognition will have a profound effect on the national teams – the Proteas – which will no longer be recognised as the representative team of South Africa.
Mthethwa concluded the letter by stating he’d be informing the ICC about his decision and the reasons for taking them at the earliest opportunity.
CSA then released a statement on Friday, reading: “It is indeed a very sad day for our country, for cricket, for the millions of South African fans who love the game and the sponsors who have committed to cricket and its grassroots development. But it is a specifically sad day for the players, staff and others whose livelihoods are at stake.”
Nicolaou adds: “Only the members’ council can retrieve the situation now by resolving to support an expedited procedure in terms of section 60 of the Companies Act.”
The minister warned in a statement on April 18 following “disappointment at the failure of the CSA delegates to adopt the revised Memorandum of Incorporation [MOI]” that he would take action.
SA’s Olympic body, Sascoc, meanwhile, has called on all parties to engage in dialogue to resolve the problems and came out to criticise the minister’s actions, as overreach, saying “two or three wrongs don’t make a right.”