Ken Borland

The representatives of the Cricket South Africa Board tasked with meeting parliament’s portfolio committee on sports, arts and culture on Tuesday found the going so tough that they caved in and have agreed to release the full Fundudzi Forensic Report to those politicians by 4.30pm on Friday.

CSA’s seven-strong delegation included acting president Beresford Williams and independent directors Eugenia Kula-Ameyaw, Marius Schoeman and Dheven Dharmalingam, but they received a hostile welcome from the sports portfolio committee, who were miffed that a summary of the forensic report had been released publicly on Monday before the politicians had had a chance to look at it.

The self-serving nature of CSA leadership is probably only matched by those parasites in parliament, so it was no surprise when the portfolio committee, who have been waiting five months for the report, began to demand that nothing less than the full, unedited Fundudzi findings be made available to them.

It was Schoeman, the chairman of CSA’s audit and risk committee, who eventually made the concession.

“It’s a tipping point and a step in the right direction. The protocol to follow is that the Members Council will be consulted and confirm that the Board may release this report. It will be released in hard copy by Fundudzi by Friday, close of business, 16 hours 30. If this is not done by 16:30 on Friday, then I will resign,” Schoeman promised.

Acting president Williams, who was mentioned in the Fundudzi report for failing to recuse himself when there were conflicts of interest in loan discussions between CSA and the Western Province Cricket Association which he formerly headed, also committed himself to the full report being released. That will surely see him put out to grass when the AGM is held on December 5, following former president Chris Nenzani, who had initially made all sorts of promises about releasing the report and then resigned in mid-August, into the wilderness.

“On behalf of CSA I just want to recommit that we will deliver on our promise. Thanks to everyone for their contribution. We will make the full report available as committed,” Williams said.

Judging by the level of anger expressed by the sports portfolio committee and by Sascoc, it seems inevitable that they will only be satisfied once the entire CSA Board has been put out to pasture.

“I respected cricket’s leadership when they said they were waiting and processing. But the respect I have given you I didn’t see in return. You think that this report does not belong to the committee. Why should we wait, five months down the line? And instead of this committee being given the full report, a summary goes to the public.

“I’m very disappointed with your leadership for disrespecting even the chairperson of this committee, who gave you chances when the members said I shouldn’t. You didn’t have the courtesy of thinking, five months down the line, that there is a committee of parliament that you were supposed to prioritise. I don’t take kindly to what you have done to me. I’m so disappointed in your leadership that, five months down the line, you have done this to us,” Beauty Dlulane, the chair of the sports portfolio committee, said.

In an unprecedented move, Cricket South Africa company secretary Welsh Gwaza is set to be given his own personal assistant, but the controversial Thabang Moroe ally may find his empire-building cut short following the mentions of him in the Fundudzi Forensic Report released on Monday.

Asked to confirm on Monday whether CSA are busy with the appointment of a PA for Gwaza, CSA communications officer Sipho Rihlamvu said: “CSA considers vacancies based on each portfolio’s needs analysis and how the filling of such vacancies would best serve the organisation. These needs are presented to the relevant structures within CSA and signed off with the prerequisite approvals. Any consideration for the positions within CSA must satisfy the said criteria.”

Other sources have suggested Gwaza has requested a PA because of his “increased workload”, a sure sign that the company secretary is being given more responsibility and therefore more power.

But Gwaza could be one of the CSA staff members against which both Fundudzi and CSA’s lawyers, Bowmans Gilfillan have recommended disciplinary processes be started.

One of the most serious examples of misgovernance exposed by Fundudzi was the deal with Global Sports Commerce for the Mzansi Super League, which has now opened CSA up for losses of R27.5 million should GSC fail to honour the terms of the settlement. The CSA Board were given assurances by Gwaza, as well as former CEO Moroe and chief operating officer Naasei Appiah, who have both subsequently been fired, that due diligence had been done on GSC, but it was never presented to the Board, before Moroe authorised payment of R30 million to the sports management company.

Gwaza was also one of the Exco members who was aware that the South African Cricketers’ Association had not been paid the image rights money due to them from the 2018 MSL.

Other funds that CSA are trying to recover, as exposed by the Fundudzi Report, are the R3 019 244 given to ‘Service Provider X’ by Moroe and Appiah without following the Procurement Policies of CSA.

Moroe’s bungling of the step-in at the Western Province Cricket Association, with Fundudzi finding he misled the CSA Board, cost the federation R725 227 in costs awarded to WPCA by the arbitrator. His appointment of Chantel Moon, who was not qualified for the job, as head of human resources on a consultancy basis without following due process in August 2019 cost CSA nearly R1.7 million according to the report. Moon was also allegedly paid R1.25 million in 2017/18 for ad hoc HR work without a signed contract.

Appiah’s purchase of alcohol for R201 372 on the company credit card was also flagged by the forensic investigators, as was Moroe’s R64 830 booze bill.

In terms of loans to the affiliates, the WPCA owe CSA R57.7 million, while the total loan bill to all affiliates for stadium upgrades comes to nearly R169 million.

Most alarmingly, CSA could not provide the forensic investigators with documentation supporting the signing of the top 40 procurement contracts agreed between January 2016 and December 2019.

NSA Vulindlela were paid about R6.8 million for security services without a contract or Board approval, and without a tender process.

Judging by the summary of the Fundudzi Forensic Report released by Cricket South Africa on Monday, it would seem dismissed CEO Thabang Moroe failed “to act with the degree of care, skill and diligence that may reasonably be expected” on an almost daily basis and the report exposes just how shambolic the running of the game had become under his watch and that of the Board.

The Fundudzi Report was commissioned, according to non-independent director John Mogodi in his presentation on Monday, to “investigate various governance issues, lapses in CSA controls and governance oversights” between January 2016 and December 2019. And it uncovered an extensive list of actions and inactions that justified disciplinary measures against Moroe.

But certain other staff members, most notably former chief operating officer Naasei Appiah, who was dismissed in mid-August, are also implicated in misgovernance and the Board itself is accused of dereliction of their fiduciary duties.

Moroe, however, is mentioned a dozen times: for contravening the CSA Code of Conduct when he revoked five journalists’ media accreditation, his failure to ensure the South African Cricketers’ Association were paid their image rights timeously which amounted to treating the players’ union with disdain and causing CSA to suffer reputational damage; several instances where he failed to follow procurement protocols and did not act in the best interests of CSA; misleading the Board when it came to exercising their step-in rights with the Western Province Cricket Association, and in failing to ensure due diligence was done in signing Global Sports Commerce for the Mzansi Super League; excessive credit card expenditure and the irregular appointment of a consultant who was not qualified for the post as head of human resources.

The fact that the CSA Board were so easily misled by Moroe and others will tickle those who have long stated that many of the directors are not fit for office.

Former independent director Mohamed Iqbal Khan and current acting president Beresford Williams were both accused of contravening the Companies Act due to a conflict of interest surrounding FinCom’s decision to make loans to the Western Province Cricket Association.

The Board also approved the agreement with GSC despite never being shown the due diligence report they had previously insisted on and GSC’s failure to provide a bank guarantee. Only 8% of the R169 million the Board has approved in loans to their affiliates for stadium upgrades has been paid back since May 2017, with several of the provincial presidents that benefit from the loans sitting on the CSA Board.

Fundudzi also found that CSA have had no effective internal audit unit for the last four years and the extension of Khan and Dawn Mokhobo’s terms as independent directors last year contravened their own Memorandum of Incorporation.

Mogodi said CSA’s lawyers, Bowmans Gilfillan, had recommended disciplinary processes against other employees of CSA and that although it was still early days in terms of those investigations, “we have already taken action on many findings and the Board are determined to act without fear or favour. We will not tolerate fraud, corruption or mismanagement”.

Fundudzi recommended criminal charges be laid in respect of the Service Provider X deal which saw Moroe and Appiah, without following the correct procurement processes, approve payment of nearly R3.5 million for services that have not been delivered.

“Trust us” was the anodyne plea made by Cricket South Africa on Thursday to both Sascoc and the cricket-loving public as they continued to try and justify why the complete Fundudzi Forensic Report cannot be made public.

CSA and Sascoc held a joint virtual press conference on Thursday, but far from presenting a unified front, it soon became apparent that the two organisations, both with distressing records in good governance, are at an impasse.

Sascoc president Aleck Skhosana said the mother body of all sports federations in South Africa are still resolved to set up an independent task team to investigate the affairs of CSA, and reiterated that the CSA Board and executive must step aside to ensure they have “unfettered access”.

But that task team will only be appointed after Sascoc have received the full forensic report, Skhosana saying this was necessary “so we don’t put the cart before the horse; if we choose the task team before we might put legal people on there instead of accounting; we need to know what kind of skills are required”.

But CSA are standing firm on their refusal to sideline their Board or executive, and will also only allow Sascoc to view the forensic report on the same basis as the Members Council last weekend – either just in summary form or at one of Bowman Gilfillan’s offices after signing a non-disclosure agreement.

CSA Acting President Beresford Williams said this was for legal reasons.

“It’s on the advice of our legal representatives, who cautioned against releasing it because there is a huge risk that it could compromise future litigation and legal matters that are already in process, plus open us up for future liability. The Members Council resolved unanimously that Sascoc’s access to the report should be under the same conditions as there’s was, in other words a summarised report,” Williams said.

Anne Vilas, the Central Gauteng Lions president and a member of the Members Council, made a plea for that body to be trusted, even though she could not state with 100% certainty whether the summary was written by Bowman Gilfillan, who are CSA’s lawyers and formerly employed controversial company secretary Welsh Gwaza, or by Fundudzi, the independent forensic investigators.

“I have been very vocal about the report but we had very enlightening discussions last weekend and we all understand CSA’s position that it would not be in the organisation’s best interest to make the report public. We don’t want to step on anybody’s rights, but further action will be taken if warranted and we will hold the Board responsible if necessary, you can trust us on that.

“No other investigations have been done to warrant the suspension of anyone other than Thabang Moroe right now, but stuff is going on and things will happen. But unless we firmly believe something is being withheld from us, there is not sufficient reason for the Board to stand down or anyone to resign. There’s nothing stopping any of the directors from standing at the AGM,” Vilas said when asked how the public were meant to believe CSA were not just hiding behind a shield of legal advice.

Williams would not give a straight answer as to whether CSA will comply with Sascoc, after Skhosana outlined the legal powers they have over CSA and their willingness to “take appropriate measures to ensure compliance”.

“Our engagement has been very positive and there has been great dialogue between the parties. We value Sascoc’s role and there’s no doubt that together we will find common ground. we are in engagement and that will continue. CSA responded in detail to Sascoc about our fiduciary duties and we are still engaging and talking to each other. I’m confident that we can move forward and find common ground,” Williams said in a top-class piece of obfuscation.

The former Western Province Cricket Association president also showed a distinct affection for denial when he said he and the other Board members had nothing to be held accountable over.

“I assure you that if there were any cases of concern in the report then we would have stood down. There were no negative findings to threaten the AGM and the Members Council unanimously agree that we should not be held accountable. I took the decision to continue to serve the game I’m passionate about, if I had acted irresponsibly or not in the best interests of CSA as a director then I would have moved on,” Williams said.

But “unanimously” is a word CSA have had a history of not understanding the proper meaning of and, as Skhosana himself said, “All trust has been lost in Cricket South Africa and we see evidence of that on a daily basis.”