The president of the South African Rugby Union (Saru), Oregan Hoskins, on Friday called on the country’s provinces and Super 14 franchises to raise their transformation game.
Saru came under fire in Parliament this week about a shortage of black players in its Super 14 teams.
”We expect the union presidents and chief executives to see to it that transformation is implemented on and off the field, at all levels of play and administration within the provinces and franchises,” Hoskins said in his address to delegates at Saru’s yearly meeting.
”It is not enough that we sign and adopt a transformation charter. South Africans must see it happening at all our unions.
”Saru has a duty to make sure that provinces, franchises and the Springbok teams transform much faster than we are doing now.”
SA Rugby also re-elected Mpumelelo Tshume as an independent member of its board. Keith Parkinson was elected as the other independent member.
SA Rugby announced a net profit after tax of R7,8-million for the last financial year. This is slightly up from the previous year’s R6,4-million.
However, SA Rugby included an investment of R6,5-million for the purchase of shares in Eastern Province, Border and South Western Districts in its profit.
”The board of SA Rugby … decided that it was not appropriate or necessary to impair the R6,5-million investment in the shares and loan account claims against the three South Eastern Cape provinces in which it has acquired 50% shareholdings, given that the acquisitions only took place late in the financial year, and that the implementation of the turnaround plans only commenced subsequent to year-end,” SA Rugby said in a statement.
”The board is confident that these strategic investments will be recouped within three years.”
All three the unions, however, are technically insolvent and SA Rugby’s decision went against the opinion of its auditors that the investment should have been impaired in full in terms of Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.
Hoskins also called on provinces to tighten their belts. ”We need to ensure that all provinces and the mother body exercise strict fiscal discipline,” he said. ”I cannot overemphasise that.
”Once all provinces are seen by the public to be rock solid, we will continue with the trend we experience in the Currie Cup, where attendance figures reached a record high in 2006, in spite of the absence of the contracted Springbok players.” — Sapa