Johannesburg, Feb 7, (PTI): The allegations of irregularities around the bonuses paid to Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola for the IPL II hosted in the country in 2009 will come under the scanner again on Saturday when Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula meets the CSA Board.
Mbalula has promised that there would be "a thorough investigation of the facts" after CSA president Mtutuzeli Nyoka accused Majola of having lied to him about the IPL bonuses.
When the allegations first came to light, Majola was accused of having paid himself and other CSA staff large bonuses without the approval of the Board. Majola subsequently conceded that he was naive about accounting processes and paid back his bonus after a public inquiry was announced.
But the inquiry was quickly turned into an internal one where Majola was just rapped over the knuckles. Following the allegation by Nyoka, three former CSA members who had called for a public inquiry have reiterated their demand in a letter to the 11 regional cricket unions in the country.
Paul Harris, Hentie van Wyk and Colin Beggs, former chairmen of the remuneration, finance and audit sub-committees of the CSA Board, said in their letter: "In our view the board is now in an untenable position in light of the very serious allegations by the president of CSA, the concerns raised by the external auditors of CSA and the issues raised in our memorandum."
The trio alleged that Majola's "double bonus" after the IPL had robbed the affiliates of about 400,000 rand each. As pressure increased on Majola and the Sports Minister, the latter told the weekly City Press yesterday that he would get a full briefing and report from CSA and interact with all the parties involved.
"No individual is above the game and I need to find out whether self-interest is involved," Mbalula said.