Nic Kock has quit his position as president of the Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA) on Monday after only 16 months in charge, citing ‘reckless trading’ as his main concern.
Kock’s tenure at the helm was the shortest in the union’s history and comes after a patchy time following the resignation of various other executive board members in recent months.
Independent directors Faghmiedah Petersen-Cook, Mustaq Brey, Mandla Mgogoshe, Suliman Mahomed, Garth van Gensen and non-independent director Richard Noor all left WPCA, while Itumeleng Langeni, the only remaining independent director, also confirmed his departure on Monday evening.
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In an interview with IOL Sport, Kock said the damage that was done in recent months is unfixable.
‘The last few months have been “interesting” to say the least. I have always been passionate about serving this wonderful game of ours and strived to create an environment where we are able to change lives, but the reputational damage suffered as a consequence over the past months has been irreconcilable,’ Kock said.
‘Together with some of the board members that have recently resigned we believe that signing of the proposed lease agreements to the value of R12 million annually in the current economic climate could be perceived as reckless trading.’
The delay in completing a brand-new building project at Newlands Cricket Ground due to the Covid-19 pandemic has led to severe financial disruption at WPCA, with the union eyeing a rental agreement worth R12m per year with the co-owners.
The project includes four new office blocks with Sanlam, the major shareholder at 51% for the whole development, while WPCA takes responsibility of the remaining 49%.
This, however, includes a loan worth R40m, which WPCA must repay to Cricket South Africa.
