Editorial: Politics jeopardise MBDA’s operation
THE achievements of the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) are well documented. The legacy of this unit is all around for us to see and enjoy daily.
It has brought the seeds of urban renewal to the fore thanks to a reputation for sound fiscal management coupled with prudent project implementation.
On these points alone the MBDA has raised itself above the general perception of mediocrity normally associated with government development. How lucky we, in Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage, have been to enjoy the fruits of this endeavour.
For how much longer is now a matter of conjecture.
Yesterday the Nelson Mandela Bay metro dissolved the board of the development agency, on the grounds that it was constituted outside the framework of the Municipal Systems Act, which requires appointment by council. Quite why it took so long to correct this oversight has a lot to do with politics as well as developments in recent days which have placed the agency slap bang in the middle of a factional squabble.
The quibble ostensibly revolves around chief executive Pierre Voges and his tenure, which has formally ended in terms of his contract. The municipality, pleased with his work and the positive outlook for the city, wanted him to remain.
It got the opposite when the board declined to extend Voges’s contract at the end of March, despite some in City Hall claiming an agreement had been reached to allow him a reprieve until the local government elections.
No doubt a letter Voges wrote to mayor Danny Jordaan just before the end of last month in which he raised the issue of the board’s status precipitated his departure. This entire saga has become tit-for-tat, bogged down by the sort of petty nonsense that seldom ends well for anyone.
The agency’s success has been due to the absence of overt political interference.
How the board was constituted and the fact that Voges’s contract was allowed to reach a denouement without a succession plan in place reflects poorly on all parties.
But these sins were not beyond redemption. With politics entering the picture, however, the MBDA’s future suddenly looks a lot less perky.
