Metro dumps MBDA board

Move follows decision to send Voges packing

NELSON Mandela Bay bosses fired the board of the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) yesterday, ending a long-running and damaging standoff at the heart of the metro’s economic direction.

The decision came just four days after the board sent chief executive Pierre Voges packing when his contract ended last week, so abandoning talks with the municipality to keep him on the job until after the municipal elections.

The board, led by Port Elizabeth businessman Motse Mfuleni, was appointed during former mayor Ben Fihla’s tenure.

It was, therefore, perceived by some to be sympathetic to the former regional leadership of the ANC, which was disbanded months before mayor Danny Jordaan was appointed.

The board’s removal is likely to divide the warring factions of the ANC in the region further.

A power struggle between the board and the municipality over whether or not to renew Voges’s contract reached boiling point in recent weeks.

A letter from Voges to Jordaan, which emerged last week, indicated Voges believed he had the backing of the municipality.

The chief executive position is crucial as the MBDA is a key player in some of the metro’s major economic projects.

These include the redevelopment of Telkom Park, the marina precinct and the management of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

The decision to dissolve the board was taken at a meeting between the metro’s leadership and some of the board members at the MBDA’s offices on Monday night.

Municipal spokesman Mthubanzi Mniki said in a statement: “The original appointment of the board was not done in terms of Section 93E of the Municipal Systems Act, which compels the appointment of the board to be made by the council.”

He said the municipality would now kick off a process to call for nominations for a new board of directors.

“In the interim, Mr Ashwin Daya will be the acting CEO and accounting officer respectively,” Mniki said.

“Effectively, Mr Daya will dispense with the day-to-day to operational issues.

“The MBDA will start a process to call for nominations for a new board of directors.”