Nyoka silent on report saying he confirmed Majola allegations

Cricket South Africa (CSA) President Mtutuzeli Nyoka has refused to comment on a report published in the Sunday Times that claims he has confirmed allegations of financial impropriety made against Gerald Majola, the board's CEO. The paper published details of a 12-page document which it says was written by Nyoka and submitted to a CSA internal commission of inquiry that is investigating bonus payments made to Majola and other staff members.

"I don't know who released the report to the press. I can't comment," Nyoka told ESPNcricinfo. According to the Sunday Times, Nyoka claims, among other things, that Rand 318,238 (approximately US$ 45,462) was paid in travel costs to Majola's wife, that no minutes exist of the R4.7 million (US $671,428) paid in bonuses after last year's Indian Premier League, and that Nyoka saw the full contract between CSA and the IPL only in August 2010, 15 months after the event was hosted.

The IPL contract, for the 2009 edition which was hosted in South Africa, has come under scrutiny because it caused two major rifts in the country's cricket. The first was with the Gauteng Cricket Board (GCB), which accused the IPL and Majola of violating norms at the Wanderers Stadium. CSA responded by stripping the Wanderers of international status and removing the Gauteng board. Mediations in August 2009 saw the Wanderers regain the right to host international matches in time for the England tour later that year. The GCB was also ordered to restructure its board in order to be more racially representative.

The second issue was a monetary one. The GCB claimed the Majola had received a substantial sum from the IPL. The Sunday Times story claims that Nyoka, when he saw the entire agreement between CSA and the IPL, wrote: "It showed allegations made by the GCB in 2009 that Mr Majola had received a large payment from the IPL were correct."

Majola and 39 other CSA staff were paid bonuses after the IPL and Champions Trophy in 2009, allegedly with money that was earned from the IPL. Those bonuses were not issued through the CSA remuneration committee (REMCO) but paid separately. A CSA insider said that the allocation of bonuses was done in accordance with precedents that were set since the 2003 World Cup and which applied to all major tournaments.

CSA's auditors Deloitte reported irregularities in the board's financial statements in August this year, resulting in Majola paying back his bonus, which amounted to over R1 million (US$ 142,857). CSA then announced that they would appoint an independent committee chaired by Judge Pius Langa to look into the payments. Before the Langa commission could begin work, CSA had appointed a new board, which overturned the decision for an external inquiry and moved the investigation in-house. According to the Sunday Times, Nyoka's report also claims that the board "voted unanimously for an external review on at least two occasions before opting for an internal review process."

The new inquiry commission is being headed by CSA vice president, AK Khan, and is expected to present its findings to the board on Friday. Majola has refused to comment before then. "It would be premature to speak before the report comes out on Friday. Everything will be revealed then," Majola said. The CEO could lose his job if found guilty of taking unauthorised payments, but a source close to CSA said that Majola is expected to be cleared of all wrongdoing.