Majola unlikely to lose job over bonus issue

Cricket South Africa (CSA) chief executive Gerald Majola is unlikely to lose his job over the bonus issue. However, the fallout from the affair could prompt CSA to hold its annual meeting in secret on August 21. An internal audit revealed that Majola and 39 other CSA employees shared the equivalent of $641,000 in bonuses from funds earned during the 2009 IPL and last season's ICC Champions Trophy.

After that discovery, CSA said in a statement on Friday that Majola decided to repay his share of the money, which was around $198,000. CSA appointed a review committee, chaired by Pius Langa, a former chief justice of South Africa, to investigate the issue before its financial statements are presented at the annual meeting.

"I can't speak on the matter," Majola told eNews, a South African television network. "There will be our AGM next week, where CSA will report on its finances and things like this for sure, because it's public knowledge. This is handled by the board, and the board will discuss the issues, I don't think I can speak on the matters myself."

However, Majola took the opportunity to declare his innocence. "Everything I do is for the interests of cricket, and even if I had to pay back money, I was doing it in the interests of cricket and nothing else."

The bonuses were paid from CSA banking accounts, but the payments were not authorised by the body's remuneration committee (REMCO). "In the view of some people, the money should have gone through CSA books before it was paid out to individuals," a CSA insider told Cricinfo. "People aren't opposed to the idea of bonuses, but this is a question of governance. There's also the issue of who decided how much money was paid to whom."

Another source close to CSA said the organisation had a history of not declaring bonuses. "When CSA hosts a tournament outside its own calendar, such as the IPL or the Champions Trophy, the staff that are involved in the organising and running of that event get paid," he said. "When the contract is drawn up between CSA and the IPL, for example, the payments to those staff are budgeted for upfront as an expense. This payment is sometimes described as a salary, but most often, because the employees are already salaried employees of CSA, it's listed as a line item called bonuses.

"This is normal procedure and has been happening since the days of (former managing director) Ali Bacher and the 2003 World Cup. The bonus structure is authorised before the tournament even starts. There is nothing unusual about it. These amounts have never gone through REMCO because they have already been authorised. If Gerald was doing something underhanded, he would have negotiated with the IPL directly for them to pay the money to him."

There might also be politics at play, as it is understood REMCO has never before complained that it was not consulted about bonus payouts. Why might it do so now? Some of the board members are in danger of being voted off and they could be trying to prove their vigilance as administrators in an attempt to hang onto their seats.

Both sources said Majola would retain his position. "Whether he is fired or not is a matter for the board to decide," said one. "Most of the board members back Gerald, so I don't think he will lose his job. However, if you're asking whether he should lose his job, that's different. In a different scenario, perhaps he would."

The other took a different tack: "He is not going to lose his job and I don't think he did anything wrong."

The possibility of the annual meeting being held away from prying eyes, however, did not sit well. "People are saying that the AGM might be held behind closed doors, and this should ring alarm bells. CSA isn't a regular company in that its function is to regulate cricket in this country. It has a national responsibility, and it is answerable to all sorts of stakeholders. The AGM has always been open to all. The media have always been invited to attend. If it should suddenly be conducted behind closed doors, that doesn't smell good."