Deputy Minister; Gert Oosthuizen
Director General; Mr Alec Moemi
Sport and Recreation Senior Managers
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen
The last time we met in this fashion, we pronounced on our intentions to establish a Committee with clear Terms of Reference, to further investigate and provide advice on the course of action to be taken in order to resolve the debacle in Cricket South Africa.
We stated unequivocally that our engagement with Cricket SA has always been in good faith and in the interest of the athletes and Cricket as a national asset. We have stated in the past, and we hereby repeat that we are not beholden to any person and/or anybody in Cricket. We also would like to state again that we hold no brief from any interested party or individual concerning this matter.
Ladies and gentlemen, the events that led us to be here, are well documented. It is neither our intention nor desire, to run the affairs of the code. We are here today, because we are announcing the committee and terms of reference, in relation to the investigation into the failure by Cricket SA to adhere to certain recommendations of KPMG and Legal Counsel, following a forensic investigation into the affairs of Cricket SA.
The Ministry of Sport and Recreation and the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) have in the past agreed to allow Cricket SA to address and resolve the issue of leadership contestations and allegations of corruption, internally. However, the process has not yielded results, as evidenced by matters reported in the public domain.
At this point, I would like to thank all the men and women within Cricket SA, who have worked tirelessly in support of our endeavours to resolve the problems within Cricket SA. And I also wish to thank men and women within SASCOC, who responded to our call by playing the role they played, in an attempt to resolve the dispute within Cricket SA.
The dispute is not in the interest of the athletes, the sport, national colours, and the Protea, which we so much endear as the South African populace. We have now come to a point where we believe the Minister’s intervention is necessary. Our intervention is inspired and orchestrated by the need for civic duty, transparency, and good corporate governance in all sporting codes.
We wish to re-iterate our bonafide that as we appoint the Ministerial Committee of Enquiry, we do so in the best interest of the athletes, and the sport in general.
We have been talking about the intervention of the Minister in line with the Sport and Recreation Act and the National Treasury Regulation 20. The reason for this is that we do not wish to act on a full blown Commission of Enquiry against Cricket South Africa, as we believe that we can still find each other. We are therefore hopeful that we will, as the Ministry, Department and Cricket South Africa, work together to ensure that the process unfolds with our support, and consequently reach an amicable solution to the problems that have rocked Cricket.
The Committee will consist of the Chairperson, Judge Christopher Nicholson, whose appointment was through the assistance of my colleague in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mr Jeff Radebe (MP), and two senior government officials from National Treasury. The officials are the Accountant – General, Mr Freeman Nomvalo and Ms Zoliswa Zwakala, who is the Chief Director: Internal Audit in National Treasury. I wish to thank both Minister Radebe and Minister Pravin Ghordan (MP) for their assistance.
Judge Christopher Nicholson, is an experienced judge, having served on the bench of the KwaZulu-Natal High Court for a period of 15 years (from 1995 - 2010). Before his appointment to the bench, he had an illustrious career as an Advocate, having practiced from 1970, dealing with numerous human rights and corporate governance litigation. Cricket is one of the sporting codes he is passionate about and he has gladly expressed his eagerness to participate in this enquiry to promote good governance.
I appeal to all parties concerned, to cooperate with the Committee of Enquiry and give the process a chance.
I assure the public that we will go to the bottom of the problems within Cricket, and will take the recommendations of the Ministerial Committee of Enquiry, very seriously.
In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, let me welcome the New Director-General of our Department, Mr Alec Moemi, to the Sport and Recreation fraternity. Mr Moemi, these are our stakeholders and they will be needing information from the Department; please help and take good care of them, and they will do the same.
Ladies and gentlemen, I will now ask Mr Moemi to take you through the Terms of Reference of the Ministerial Committee of Enquiry.
I thank you.
