Cricket South Africa (CSA) chief executive Gerald Majola’s decision to pay himself a bonus of nearly R1,8-million last year, and lesser bonuses to his staff, may have cost each provincial union about R400 000.
But the R4,4-million total is small change compared with the R25-million spent by CSA on buying 17 transport buses last year.
Details are emerging of the curious deal that involved a significant portion of CSA’s financial reserves, built up to protect the organisation and its affiliates against lean times.
The acquisition of the 30-seater buses has infuriated many of the people who have the ‘hands-on” job of actually running the six professional franchises. Two of them, who asked not be named when contacted by the Mail & Guardian, labelled the acquisition as ‘irresponsible”.
When representatives of the unions and franchises were presented with the deal as a fait accompli, their emotions ranged from ‘totally shocked” to ‘very angry”, according to administrators, including some from CSA, who were also present at the meeting last year.
CSA had delegated the responsibility for explaining the deal to Naasei Appia, the newly appointed chief financial officer, who had just taken over from Don McIntosh after his resignation.
‘We asked what the business plan was and how we were going to make an investment of R25-million work for us but the answers we got were vague. It became obvious that the deal had been done without even a feasibility study, let alone a business plan,” said one of those present at the meeting.
The shock
Later, when a business plan did materialise, those responsible for managing the franchises were in for an even bigger shock. Having been told that they could all use the buses to drive various age-group and amateur teams to fixtures countrywide on a complimentary basis — and that a leasing company would ensure that the vehicles generated income when not being used by the franchises and unions — the plan changed.
‘For the financial model to have any chance of succeeding, we were told that we would have to use the buses for a minimum number of days per year — and pay for them,” said another despondent union employee.
‘There was no consultation with us before the deal and no discussion about using the vehicles. Most of us have worked very hard to secure relationships with sponsors who provide transport. Even if we could use the CSA buses, we’d risk losing the support of companies who’ve backed us for years.
‘It looks as if we’re being asked to pay for a service we don’t need to keep afloat, a deal we didn’t want — or even know about,” said a third member of the meeting, who asked to remain anonymous.
Most of the executive who approved the deal refused to comment this week, but embattled CSA president Mtutuzeli Nyoka said: ‘It was presented to us in such a way that seemed to make good financial sense at the time. The buses had been used during the Fifa World Cup and were almost brand-new and they were coming at a huge discount.
‘It was suggested that the shortfall in the days that cricket could make use of them would be made up, at a significant profit to CSA, by sub-leasing them. It was approved at a general meeting on November 19, but since then I’ve been cut out of all communication. I don’t know what has transpired since then.
‘But it certainly is not my recollection that the affiliates would have to pay for use of the transport,” Nyoka said. ‘I have no idea whose initiative this deal was. I don’t know who wanted it or who put it together, but it certainly wasn’t me.”
An independent businessman with strong cricket connections said he was ‘staggered” by the deal. ‘It makes absolutely no business sense at all. A company’s reserve is sacrosanct, especially when their business can be volatile, like cricket.
‘What if the buses break down or crash, or the fuel price surges and nobody can afford to hire buses? Then they’re sitting with a R25-million white elephant.”
Asked why he declined to be named, he replied: ‘Too many agendas and egos in cricket at the moment. You’d rather stay out.”