Johannesburg – The extension of the deadline for the final report from the Social Justice and Nation BUilding Ombudsman, comes as no surprise given the volume of testimony the office had to process.
Cricket SA confirmed on Wednesday that its Board of Directors had given the Ombudsman, Adv. Dumisa Ntsebeza until next Monday, to submit his final report. The original deadline was November 30, which was already an extension, of a September 30 deadline. However that date was changed to accommodate responses from those who had been named in the original phase of the Ombudsman’s oral testimonies which were conducted in July and August.
A number of individuals and entities who’d been adversely mentioned were given the opportunity to submit written responses including CSA’s current Director of Cricket, Graeme Smith, the Proteas men’s side’s head coach Mark Boucher and former skipper AB de Villiers.
Only Boucher’s written testimony has been made public, but he along with Smith and De Villiers did not provide oral testimony at the hearings.
The SJN process rocked South African cricket to its core as months of heartbreaking testimony was heard, fingering a number of prominent personalities and also showing deep divisions that existed in the sport from administrative to playing level.
The national and local government were fingered on many occasions as well, and while Sports Minister, Nathi Mthethwa has on occasion pointed out that CSA’s handling of the report will be monitored, the same holds true for his department and local government councils around the country.
Ntsebeza’s report will make recommendations, although it is understood that CSA is not bound to implement them. However there is likely to be some form of action taken based on what the report contains.
The report will be made public once the Board has studied its contents.
IOL Sport