Gauteng cricket clubs showed maturity - new CGL president

• Gauteng moving on from long-standing race divisions, says new president Vilas.
• CGL appointed its first female president at last week's election.
• Province rejected Judge Bernard Ngoepe's recommendations to maintain Langa Report race based constituencies.

Newly-appointed Central Gauteng Lions (CGL) cricket president Anne Vilas said member clubs that voted in the new board showed a high level of maturity and understanding of transformation.

This follows the new elections made at last week's board meeting.

Gauteng had been engulfed in long-running race-based boardroom conflicts, stretching as far back as unity in 1991. Most recently, conflicts arose after its members rejected Judge Bernard Ngoepe’s report, which said Gauteng cricket had not sufficiently transformed enough to do without the late Justice Pius Langa's recommendations that were adopted in 2013.

The rejection of the Langa Report's constituency voting was seen by some as a rejection of transformation by the province and prompted two board members, Ntsongo Sibiya and Koketso Muller to resign.

However, on the 22 May voting day, clubs appointed a board comprising fair representatives of South Africa's race groups, featuring Vilas as its first female president, who was elected unopposed.

"We've just had an election where all clubs voted for the people on the board," said Vilas.

"They showed amazing maturity and understanding of transformation with the board that they elected - with no groups in our MOI (Memorandum of Intent) for them to vote for.

"Today we have a board of five black Africans, two Indian, two coloured and two white members, so I think we are moving on and in the right direction."

Under Justice Langa's report, Gauteng were required to vote according to constituencies, with black Africans guaranteed three of the seven non-independent seats.

It's constrictions lapsed in 2019 but Cricket South Africa (CSA) commissioned retired Judge Ngoepe to review whether the Langa requirements ought to have carried on. Ngoepe found that they should but clubs voted against adopting Ngoepe's and, by proxy continuing Langa's, recommendations.

Vilas, who succeeded Jack Madiseng as president, said on Friday that there was no simmering enmity between the two former board members that resigned and withdrew from re-election.

"Obviously Ntsongo and Koketso resigned from the board and withdrew from the process of being re-elected onto the board. Jack was never going to stand for re-election, so that was slightly different," Vilas said.

"Ntsongo is going to stay on our pipeline committee and he's most probably going to chair it. From my discussions with him, he’s going to work really hard in township cricket, on pipeline and hub cricket for us.

"I actually think that’s going to be fantastic. I think he’s going to do a lot of good work. That’s where his strengths are and I think he’ll help us grow that part of cricket."