Chaos at WPRFU headquarters as Zelt remains in hot seat

NEWS: Western Province Rugby Football Union President Zelt Marais was set to face a vote of no confidence on Monday, but instead chaos reigned supreme at the general meeting.

According to information provided to @rugby365, the vote could not take place as there was fighting over technicalities and letters from clubs were not even tabled.

Over the weekend, Ebrahim Rasool, Chairman of the board of WP Professional Rugby (Pty) Ltd, accused Marais of "megalomania" and having centralized all power in his person – as President of WPRFU, board member of WPPR, acting CEO of WPRFU, head of the finance committee and now leader of a War Room.

And it seems Rasool's words were proved true with info seeping out from Monday's meeting.

It was revealed that Marais refused to leave Monday's gathering and he requested clubs to show minutes of the meeting where they agreed to have a vote of no confidence in him.

Marais also threatened to put clubs under administration.

It is believed while Zelt was protesting, representatives of the clubs started walking out of the meeting.

In Rasool's scathing letter released on Saturday, he fired some powerful salvos in the direction of Marais.

"[He is] nullifying the established structures of WPRFU and shielded [himself] from oversight," Rasool said.

Monday's failed meeting is just another setback in the ongoing boardroom battles at the WPRFU.

Over the weekend, Peter Jooste has become the latest member of the executive committee to hand in his resignation.

Jooste, who ran for President against Marais in 2018, handed in his resignation on Friday.

In the reasons for his resignation, Jooste said the ongoing infighting is at the heart of his decision.

He pointed to an earlier statement by Ebrahim Rasool, Chairman of the board of WP Professional Rugby (Pty) Ltd, as an example of the friction that contributed to his decision.

“The statement by Mr Rasool is indicative of the division and bad blood that had set in at both the union and the company,” Jooste said in a statement to @rugby365com.

The latest resignation follows other high-profile departures such as Kevin Kiewitz and Spencer King, while Junaid Moerat and Mario Williams have been suspended.