Gerald Majola cleared of financial misconduct

Gerald Majola, the chief executive of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, has been cleared of misconduct by a commission of enquiry. The commission was set up to examine allegations of misappropriation of UCB funds by Diteko Modise, then the general manager of finance and administration. Majola's alleged misconduct was also a subject of the enquiry.

According to the South African newspaper, The Sunday Times, the commission found that Majola had inherited a financial management system that was "handled more on trust than on adherence to known and defined written systems."

The report continued: "As the finances of the UCB grew post-isolation, the UCB appointed a manager for finance and administration before the appointment of Modise. Even during this period, there were no financial systems in place. The parties conducted the financial affairs of the UCB manually, and on good faith."

The commission opted to shift the blame onto the external auditors, stating that they should have noted the misappropriation of the large sums involved. It agreed with the auditors that Majola should not blamed for the lapse.

"It is the evidence that he [Majola] initiated the process to create a framework policy to manage the finances of the UCB. The misappropriation of the funds occurred without any conduct wanting on his part."