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Johannesburg - SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) president Gideon Sam says he came close to kicking Cricket SA (CSA) acting chief executive Jacques Faul and president Willie Basson out after meeting over the composition of their new board.
Sam moved to set the record straight at the inaugural Sport Industry Summit in Johannesburg on Thursday.
“We made our position clear to Cricket South Africa but Dr Basson and Jacques visited us last week Friday and it was very hot and I almost kicked them out of the office,” Sam said.
“Because we were quite clear that we are not going to move from our position, that is what we agreed and cricket was part of that resolution.”
The heated argument led to CSA postponing their AGM, scheduled for Saturday, until November 30.
CSA proposed a new-look board of 11 would include five independent members, while SASCOC wanted a larger representation from the cricket affiliates.
Former 2010 FIFA World Cup organising committee head Danny Jordaan weighed into the debate saying the composition of sport boards were also currently being discussed at FIFA.
“I am a member of the transparency and governance committee of FIFA and this was an issue that has been discussed,” Jordaan said.
“The issue is simply this, the way you get onto the executive is through an election and you are held accountable.
“That is an issue of on the one hand to have independence for good governance, and on the other hand for accountability."
Jordaan said the matter surrounding the composition of CSA’s board opened the door for further debate on the amount of independent directors on the board.
“One federation was well ahead and I don’t know if SASCOC will decide whether we should follow or debate this thing thoroughly,” he said.
“Internationally this is a matter that’s being discussed, looked at and very far from being concluded, it’s been parked at the moment for further research.”
CSA was in a precarious position as they had to comply with SASCOC’s demands while they also had to follow the recommendations of the Nicholson committee of inquiry.
The committee, chaired by retired judge Chris Nicholson and appointed by Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula, recommended CSA's board be made smaller while the majority of the board should consist of independent members.
While CSA were wrestling with these issues, SA Rugby Union (SARU) chief executive Jurie Roux believed they have found the right balance between independent and non-independent members on their board.
He said the SARU board consisted of nine members, seven elected from the provincial unions, which was a president, vice-president, deputy president and four additional members.
The remaining two were independent members, elected on a year-by-year basis by the Executive committee, with independents not coming from a rugby background or provincial union.
“They come from a business background and what they bring to the table is a business focus,” said Roux
