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Cricket will be conducted without government intervention: SA sports minister
Cricket must now proceed without government intervention, sports minister Nathi Mthetwa said as he announced the withdrawal of a proclamation that would have put the national teams and their tours in jeopardy.
“We have learnt a lot and we now have to start packing our bags as government and move aside, so that sport works continuously, unhindered,” Mthetwa said at a joint media briefing with Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Friday.
For posterity, people should know that for any good thing to come about there has to be struggle,” Mthetwa said, defending the government intervention in the affairs of squabbling CSA.
Mthetwa had appointed an Interim Board (IB) last year with the express proviso that it resolve a long-standing crisis at the CSA regarding the implementation of new corporate governance proposals.
The entire previous board had either resigned or been dismissed.
Following an impasse between the IB and the Member’s Council, representing its affiliates, about accepting the new governance rules, Mthetwa had on Thursday invoked his powers in terms of the National Sport and Recreation Act to effectively leave South Africa with no cricketing authority.
This would have put in doubt the status of the national squads and all incoming and outgoing tours. Hundreds of jobs were also at stake.
However, barely hours after the proclamation, Mthetwa announced that he had instructed his Department to initiate the process of withdrawing it.
He said this was done after he received a letter from the CSA.
“As the sole purpose of my intervention into the affairs of CSA was to facilitate a negotiated solution in respect of governance best practice, I have, based on the confirmation from CSA’s Acting President (Rihan Richards) and IB Chairperson (Stavros Nicolaou), instructed my Department to immediately initiate the requisite process to withdraw the notice,” Mthetwa said.
Nicolaou said the new governance framework which involves independent directors would not only inspire confidence in CSA but would also go a long way towards fixing the failures and mishaps that previously existed in the cricket board.
“I think this will shift the focus and attention away from the boardroom to the players and the fans, where it should be”, Nicolaou said.
The new board of the CSA will consist of 15 directors, which will be reduced to 13 after two years. Eight will be independent directors, nominated from an independent panel, while the Members’ Council will select five non-independent directors.
The chairperson of the CSA board will be one of the eight independent directors.
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What monkey fled with a bag containing evidence in it: Read full story
The court, generally, considers a person who commit a crime and the one who destroys the evidence, as criminals in the eyes of law. But what if an animal destroys the evidence of a crime committed by a human.
In a peculiar incident in Rajasthan, a monkey fled away with the evidence collected by the police in a murder case. The stolen evidence included the murder weapon (a blood-stained knife).
The incident came to light when the police appeared before the court and they had to provide the evidence in the hearing.
The hearing was about the crime which took place in September 2016, in which a person named Shashikant Sharma died at a primary health center under Chandwaji police station. After the body was found, the deceased’s relatives blocked the Jaipur-Delhi highway, demanding an inquiry into the matter.
Following the investigation, the police had arrested Rahul Kandera and Mohanlal Kandera, residents of Chandwaji in relation to the murder. But, when the time came to produce the evidence related to the case, it was found that the police had no evidence with them because a monkey had stolen it from them.
In the court, the police said that the knife, which was the primary evidence, was also taken by the monkey. The cops informed that the evidence of the case was kept in a bag, which was being taken to the court.
The evidence bag contained the knife and 15 other important evidences. However, due to the lack of space in the malkhana, a bag full of evidence was kept under a tree, which led to the incident.