Sports Minister, Fikile Mbalula.(SABC)
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Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola had an opportunity to disclose the bonus he awarded himself as early as May 2009 - months before an internal audit in 2010 picked up what now is the bonus scandal.
This came to light on the final day of oral submissions before the Ministerial Committee of Inquiry in Pretoria. Retired Judge and Professor Mervyn King seen as the undisputed voice when it comes to corporate governance and company law in South Africa believes Majola could have come clean as early as May 2009.
King said the board or the minutes of May 2009 will show who was present but to his recollection the majority of the board was present.
During that meeting, Judge King touched on the very point of bonuses and the company's Act which Majola transgressed on at least three occasions. King said the exact language was, the income and property of the association.According to Judge King, Majola was questioned about the bonus at a meeting a month before the start of the 2009 Indian Premier League. He said he told Majola that anything that he believes is associated with him and that issue being discussed he should put it on the table but Majola chose not to.
The oral submissions have come to an end. The Committee of Inquiry also have written submissions to consider before handing over its report to Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula.. The Nicholson inquiry was announced last year by Mbalula after auditing firm KPMG recommended that Cricket South Africa's (CSA) remuneration and travel allowance policy be reviewed.
A KPMG audit found that bonus payments had been kept secret from the federation's remuneration committee, and that CSA Majola had breached the Companies Act on at least four occasions.
The committee said it hoped to submit its final report to Mbalula by the end of February. The national cricket body has struggled to find sponsors to back the sport during the lengthy bonus saga. The domestic one-day and T20 competitions and the national T20 team remain sponsorless. Mbalula said at a business breakfast in Johannesburg on Tuesday that he would not tolerate corruption or bad corporate governance in South African sports.
