Cricket South Africa’s board and its member’s council will be engaged in a meeting on Saturday that for all intents and purposes could decide the organisation’s future after Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa’s ultimatum to them on Thursday.

At Thursday’s meeting‚ Mthethwa told CSA to comply with Sascoc’s (SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee) request of the board stepping aside or face ministerial intervention. CSA have until Tuesday to comply‚ where they’ll also be facing Sascoc‚ along with the Sports Portfolio Committee.

According to article 13 (5) (i) of the national sport and recreation act of 1998‚ the minister may intervene in a sporting body’s matter if there is a dispute‚ alleged mismanagement or any other matter in sport or recreation that is likely to bring a sport or recreational activity into disrepute.

CSA’s acting president Beresford Williams said they are meeting on Saturday to chart a path forward stemming from Thursday’s meeting.

“As the board and the member’s council‚ we are going to meet‚ so I can’t provide you with a further update as to what the stance will be‚” Williams said.

At Thursday’s meeting‚ CSA were read the riot act with regards to their deliberate lack of cooperation with Sascoc‚ who on September 9 wanted CSA’s board to step aside while a task team is appointed to investigate the organisation’s administrative lapses.

That suggestion was met with firm resistance by CSA‚ who then moved to seek legal advice. Further conversations between the organisations‚ with this intervention now from the sporting ministry‚ has proven to be fruitless.

After CSA had rebutted Sascoc’s attempts to intervene‚ the national Olympic body wrote to the International Cricket Council to explain their position and why they are intervening in CSA’s affairs.

In last week’s board meeting Sascoc gave CSA no other alternative but to force the organisation to give up the report without signing the non-disclosure agreement or face consequences.

In a letter to the ministry last week‚ Sascoc cited their lack of finances as one of the reasons they can’t deal with CSA head on and asked for the ministry’s intervention in the matter. Judging from the minister’s response‚ it’s clear that CSA have no choice but to cooperate.

“It has become abundantly clear that CSA‚ which has resources at its disposal‚ will not readily cooperate with Sascoc. It is inevitable that a dispute will be declared between Sascoc and CSA‚ which will result in protracted and expensive litigation‚ which resources that Sascoc doesn’t possess to pursue legal proceedings against CSA‚” said Sascoc’s acting chief executive officer Ravi Govender to Mthethwa last week.

Approached for comment‚ the minister’s advisor Walter Mokoena referred TimesLive to an interview that Mthethwa did with the SABC on Thursday during National Recreation Day activities at Loftus Versfeld. In the YouTube interview that TimesLive found‚ the minister made no mention of the CSA matter.