CSA TRANSFORMATION POLICY
The Transformation Policy of Cricket South Africa is aimed at making cricket a truly national sport of winners.
This vision has two elements to it:
* Firstly, to ensure that the majority of South African play and support cricket
* And secondly, to become winners by building capacity and pursuing excellence
The implementation of this policy is guided by the principles of accountability, transparency, cost effectiveness, productivity and achieving best value in delivery through commitment and good governance.
The transformation process is to assist the Cricket South Africa in managing change in its value system to keep abreast of current needs.
Transformation within the Cricket South Africa is not about compensation, but about eliminating disparity and giving everyone an equal opportunity in terms of the Preamble to the South African Constitution.
REDRESS
This policy takes into account the need to redress the imbalances created by South Africa’s historically discriminatory past. It also acknowledges that, among previously disadvantaged groups, there will be individuals that, by virtue of their race or gender, will have been worse disadvantaged than their counterparts.
Transformation is designed to correct these imbalances, and to create equal opportunities for all to compete on an equal basis.
Cricket South Africa is aware it is important to base transformation on sustainable development programmes that have a buy-in from all cricket stakeholders, as opposed to a system that relies on punitive measures to compel representivity.
Cricket South Africa’s transformation policy is pro-active and results-driven, and is a conscious effort to redress disadvantages of the past and to increase the representation of marginalised groups at all levels of the game.
This policy is not reversed discrimination, but a process based on South African cricket making use of all the resources available to it.
The process is seen as the ultimate management process in an environment that is made of people with so many cultural, gender, ideological and other differences.
It provides a foundation for the different human resources initiatives such as transformation, mentoring, succession planning and capacity building both on and off the field.
TARGETS
The UCBSA has accepted the principle of targeted transformation at all levels of the sport, with implementation, monitoring and evaluating being internalised at provincial and national level.
Targets are set annually and Affiliate/Associate Presidents and Chief Executive Officers are responsible for implementation, monitoring and evaluation of these targets. The National Chief Executive Officer takes overall responsibility, reporting to the Cricket South Africa’s General Council.
Cricket South Africa is committed to development programmes, through targeted transformation, aimed at the upliftment of the target groups to ensure that they become ready to take up responsible positions within defined time frames.
Transformation progress is reviewed constantly against targets set in each discipline within Cricket South Africa, and the following will be carefully monitored:
- Increase of Black participation at all levels of cricket
- Increase in Blacks in senior and decision-making positions on and off the field of play
- Higher retention rates for Blacks playing, coaching and administering cricket
- Increase of participation and spectator support for cricket in Black communities
- Positive, visible, active support and commitment given to strategy by top management and line management
REPRESENTIVITY
Cricket South Africa recognises that the targeted groups are Blacks, Women and the Disabled. Black is a generic term that refers to people of African, Coloured and Indian origin. It is also recognised that within this group Black Africans were the worst historically disadvantaged, and advancement needs to be accelerated for this designated group.
Representivity is a key transformation target, and this is about making sure that the Cricket South Africa is inclusive to individuals across the demographic spectrum of South Africa at all post levels and team formations.
Team selection criteria include the following: where players have virtually equal potential, selectors should give preferential treatment to a player from a previously disadvantaged group to ensure representivity is achieved.
Selection targets will also be set to ensure representivity in teams at all levels, and selection panels themselves will include their own representivity targets.
Development and training will be the foundations of transformation, leading to representivity by properly equipped individuals from target groups. The majority of the Cricket South Africa’s funding will be used in this regard.
EMPOWERMENT
The Cricket South Africa’s employment equity policy is aimed at eliminating all forms of discrimination as well as the implementation of measures to accelerate the advancement of target groups both in the administration of the game and in the place of employment.
There is a structured approach to ensure the objectives of employing members of the target groups and transferring skillsto them.
Mentoring should be an important aspect of capacity building. After a proper capacity building exercise has been done with an employee, this should be communicated and approved by the employee and mentor. Care should be taken that specific time frames and objectives to be achieved are negotiated before training starts.
Regular performance appraisals are vital and must be conducted constructively and openly and an honest assessment made of progress. Training cannot go on forever.
Progress must be reviewed against original objectives. There must be regular feedbacks.
Managers will need to develop dynamic new attitudes and skills in order to become successful motivators of employees in the changing environment of the future and to ensure the success of equal employment.
The Cricket South Africa also recognises that it must practically contribute to Black economic empowerment by creating business opportunities and systematically award tenders to Black-owned companies or to companies that incorporate shareholding to designated groups.
Procurement procedures ensure that suppliers must have a sound Black Economic Employment Policy as well as being able to deliver the required quality and quantity.
Vigilance is needed to guard against suppliers confusing Affirmative Action with Black Economic Empowerment and, where a supplier forms an alliance with a designated group, equity must be shared at least on a 60/40 basis.
ATTITUDES
In formulating its transformation policies, the Cricket South Africa has taken cognisance of the role that should be played by designated groupsand those outside the designated groups.
Members of the designated groups shall be responsible for the following:
- Be responsive to opportunities availed to them
- Apply initiative over their own human development
- Acknowledge that advancement is not automatic and therefore strive to meet the criteria for performance merits
Members outside the designated groups shall:
- Acknowledge that the past system of apartheid was unjust and unfairly discriminated against the designated groups
- Accept that the process of bringing the designated groups on board needs to be accelerated
- Demonstrate commitment to the advancement of the policy through positive attitudes
The Cricket South Africa seeks to avoid “window dressing” which causes irreparable damage to interpersonal relationships within cricket as well as its objective of producing winners.
The focus, rather, will be on reversing the training, coaching and development backlog of the disadvantaged.
There is no “quick-fix” solution to rectifying this backlog. The complex changes of this long-term remedial process must be understood and supported by all.
Cricket South Africa, therefore, will undertake constant education processes as transformation is implemented.
HISTORY
An important aspect of the Cricket South Africa’s transformation is helping to create new understandings and identities by empowering and recognising those people excluded from official histories and official cricket life under apartheid.
This aspect of transformation is designed to break old historical stereotypes, re-image the past and shape dynamic new understandings across the board.
There has been much progress in the past three years. Several major histories have been produced or in preparation, including:
- A nationally-screened multi-million Rand, four-part television series
- An illustrated 375 page book, “More than a Game: History of the Western Province Cricket Board 1959-1991”
by Mogamad Allie - The KwaZulu Natal Cricket Union published “The other side: A Miscellany of Cricket in Natal”, compiled by Krish Reddy in 1999 and is following up this year with “History of Black Cricket in KZN”, to be published by Natal University Press and produced by professional historians, Prof Vishnu Padayachee, Dr Goolam Vahed, Dr Ashwin Desai, Dr Logan Naidoo and Krish Reddy.
- The “Story of an African Game”, by Prof André Odendaal, will deal with 150 years in the Black African communities of South Africa that will be a tribute to the late Khaya Majola and that is due for publication next year.
- The Cricket South Africa has also sanctioned a two-volume “Official History of South African Cricket – 1808-2002” under the editorship of André Odendaal, Krish Reddy and Christopher Merrit.
TRANSPARENCY
Cricket South Africa’s transformation policy is based on five pillars:
- Setting representivity targets at all levels of the game
- Monitoring those targets internally and continuously
- Delivery of goals
- Evaluation of successes and weaknesses
- Communication and transparency
The first four pillars are dealt with by the setting of targets with the approval of the General Council and through the collation and evaluation of data on a provincial and national basis each month.
Communication and transparency must take place in the following sectors:
- Internal structures and all other relevant stakeholders, through brochures, briefings and seminars
- Government bodies (see following section)
- The media, through briefings, media conferences and workshops
It is vital to get a buy-in from internal structures and stakeholders, and for the public and Government to appreciate and understand transformation in the South African cricket context.
GOVERNMENT BRIEFINGS
The Cricket South Africa will regularly brief and be advised by the following institutions on transformation:
- The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation
- The Ministry of Sport and Recreation (National, Provincial and Local), and
- The South African Sport and Olympic Committee.
CONCLUSION
The realities and challenges facing South African cricket are constantly changing and evolving. Cricket South Africa cannot claim to have arrived at its destiny, but rather it will remain dynamic and adaptive in its response to its changing reality.
Cricket South Africa, with transformation in the South African context as its cornerstone, makes the following pledge to:
- Activate and demonstrate our commitment to unified teamwork through transformation – one team, one plan, one voice
- Create a culture of delivery and winning at levels through representivity and diversity – spirited playing and excellent administration
- Plan for and achieve the sustainability of our dynamic organisation – an inspiring image, community support, commercial viability and an asset to the Nation.
Cricket South Africa is committed to the struggle to eliminate disparity, and give everyone an equal chance.
