The situation surrounding Western Province Rugby has taken another turn for the worse as four independent directors of the company tendered their resignations while accusing president Zelt Marais of centralising all decision-making authority.

In a letter addressed to Western Province Rugby Union president Marais, which SARugbymag.co.za has seen, independent directors Janine Myburgh, Melene Rossouw, Solly Moneng and Sabelo Mzanywa tendered their collective resignation from the board of Western Province Professional Rugby (Pty) Ltd.

This comes in the wake of the rugby union’s decision to place five executive committee members, four of whom served on the WP professional rugby board, on suspension.

In the letter, the independent directors say that the suspensions have made it impossible for the board to legitimately convene and Marais’ actions as president have incapacitated the board.

Marais last month survived a vote of no confidence as he has come under fire for disobeying and acting in direct conflict with the instructions of the joint WPRU and SA Rugby advisory committee.

The WPRU president has previously been accused of deliberately stalling a potential equity deal for the past six months and of centralising all power in his position.

The letter signed by the resigning directors goes on to say that Marais has taken many decisions over time “single-handedly” and “without consultation” and that the board has had to spend much time protecting Marais from potential lawsuits due to his comments in a recent interview.

An application to have Marais removed from office was lodged with the Western Cape High Court. However, the issue was struck off the roll as judge Patrick Gamble deemed that it was not urgent.

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