Mbalula meets with CSA officials

Cape Town - Minister of Sport and Recreation, Fikile Mbalula, met with Cricket South Africa (CSA) officials in Johannesburg on Monday to discuss a series of cricket matters.

CSA’s delegation was led by president Chris Nenzani and CEO Haroon Lorgat.

The meeting was convened by Mbalula with a view to obtain first-hand briefing on three pertinent matters:

- Allegations of match-fixing within cricket in South Africa and what steps were taken to investigate these allegations,

- Presentation by Cricket South Africa on its player selection policy, and

- Briefing by Cricket South Africa on its handling and addressing the petition submitted by concerned cricket players.

Mbalula explained the need for Cricket South Africa to leave no stone unturned and get to the bottom of the allegations as match-fixing is a criminal offence in South African law. The meeting noted the work that has already been done in respect of the investigation and the assurance from Cricket South Africa that its anti-corruption unit has got the investigations under control. The minister offered the services of state investigative agencies to CSA in order to bolster the capacity of the investigation, should such a need arise.

The CSA delegation briefed Mbalula on its player selection policies, guidelines and procedures. Although the report was well received, there was general agreement that there are glaring gaps and inadequacies in the policy that are in conflict with the sports barometer and transformation charter. The CSA delegation offered to undertake a consultation process, within its structures, aimed at policy review and closing the gaps in line with the memorandum of agreement signed by the federation with the minister to achieve transformation targets. The CSA board further committed to discuss the principle of merit selection in relation to the quality of opportunity.

The minister received a briefing from CSA on the petition submitted by concerned players to the CEO of CSA. CSA informed the minister that all the grievances lodged through the petition are receiving priority attention at the highest level. The board of CSA has appointed advocate Norman Arendse as the convener of a task team charged with the responsibility of addressing the grievances. The minister’s office will be presented with updates every step of the way on developments in this regard.

The meeting further resolved to deal with these matters in the spirit of a caring institution and by creating within CSA structures a caring environment.