Pierre Voges returns to the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) at a time when Nelson Mandela Bay can scarcely afford another failure.
As the agency’s founding chief executive, Voges helped establish the MBDA in 2004 and oversaw the development of the master plan that guided much of the city’s urban renewal programme.
Since then, he has accumulated significant international experience in large-scale urban development projects in Saudi Arabia, adding to a career that includes government, economic planning and infrastructure development.
What is perhaps most telling is that Voges has never presented himself as the long-term solution.
Even in his application for the interim post, he made it clear that his task was to stabilise the organisation, strengthen its systems and prepare it for a permanent chief executive.
That is refreshing. He has made no extravagant promises.
Instead, he has acknowledged that five months is not enough to fix everything. But, regardless of his experience, Voges will struggle to achieve what he wants if political instability continues.
The MBDA’s troubles do not exist in isolation. They reflect the dysfunction gripping the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality.
The conflict between mayor Babalwa Lobishe and deputy mayor Gary van Niekerk has exposed deep fractures within the coalition government.
At the same time, disputes between the municipality and the MBDA board over governance and consultation continue.
Residents care little for arguments over who should have been consulted or which official has authority over whom.
They want cleaner streets, safer neighbourhoods and economic growth. They want projects completed rather than endlessly debated.
That is why the coming five months are about far more than one interim appointment.
The MBDA board must give Voges the independence to carry out the difficult work of rebuilding the agency’s systems.
The municipality must exercise its oversight role without allowing bureaucratic turf wars to undermine the work.
Oversight and interference are not the same thing. What we need now is leadership that delivers for our city.
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