Ken Borland

The Central Gauteng Lions have decided to move away from the prescribed racial constituencies for the election of their board in their AGM on Saturday, because critics say it encourages individuals elected as directors to only focus on their particular segment of the game.

Since the Langa Commission in 2009, which was set up by disgraced Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola as punishment for Gauteng cricket’s role in bringing the bonus scandal to light, the Lions board has had a specific racial composition, with racial voting blocks that meant Black African clubs could only vote for the Black African members of the board, likewise for the Coloured and Indian and White groupings.

Last year, CSA pulled a similar stunt, delaying the AGM when the Ngoepe Commission was instituted to see if the changes brought about by the Langa Commission had aided transformation. Judge Bernard Ngoepe found that they had not, but then said the provisions should continue.

Of the seven non-independent directors to be elected to the board, three of them had to be Black African, with the Coloured/Indian and White constituencies electing two representatives each. But the Members Council, comprising all the province’s clubs, have agreed that in Saturday’s AGM there will be two guaranteed posts for each of the racial categories, for which everyone can vote, while the seventh place on the board is open to anyone.

The Black African Cricket Clubs (BACC) grouping this week lashed out at the Members Council and have threatened to pull out of Saturday’s AGM.

“Transformation has not been fully achieved but there has been progress. The Coloured and Indian clubs don’t feel any less Black than the Black African ones and having more Black African representatives does not automatically guarantee transformation. The board has been majority Black African for a number of years but the report by Judge Ngoepe said transformation had not been achieved.

“We want to vote for the best board, whether that means five Black Africans, seven or two. But the BACC are basically fighting about one seat and have been threating the Concerned Cricketers Forum (Indian/Coloured) and the Previously Advantaged Clubs (White), both of which have definitely changed their demographics anyway. We don’t want to vote by constituency anymore.

“All clubs should play a role in electing all seven board members, so the Members Council have decided that all clubs can vote for all seven, the best seven. There are also the five independent directors to be chosen by the new board and I would be surprised if that wasn’t 80% Black African. We want to be able to hold every board member accountable, with three different constituencies the directors all just look after their own interests. The day a Black African club can ask a White board member what they are doing for that club is the day we move forward,” a Members Council insider told Saturday Citizen.

Central Gauteng Lions CEO Jono Leaf-Wright said he believed the Members Council’s only agenda was to obtain long-overdue unity.

“We just want a united board that can grow all cricket and execute our mandate, including transformation. In terms of transformation, I believe we have ticked many boxes. It would be different if we were fielding lily-white teams, but our system and pipeline are very strong,” Leaf-Wright said.