19 hours ago
Full potential of MBDA promises to be unleashed in 2026
On Friday June 27, the Mandela Bay Development Agency, an entity founded by the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality and the Industrial Development Corporation in 2003, held a milestone event to reflect on the agency's 22 years of existence.
Founded on the back of a rapidly growing city population due to intra-province migration, a central business district that was suffering from the negative impact of capital flight, urban influx and a fast-contracting automotive economy, the MBDA was designed to be a turnkey project management house of the municipality.
These were the words of the first democratic-era executive mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay, Nceba Faku, who spoke at the event.
Faku knows this very well because he and his colleagues in council back in 2003 had a vision: to create a trusted vehicle that could tackle the challenges of economic development while the municipality dealt with the mountain of the apartheid spatial planning backlog in service delivery.
Faku said this was in line with the early thinking worldwide — for development agencies to complement the work of local government without adding bureaucracy and red tape.
The MBDA enjoyed early success with major projects in the inner city, specifically in and around Central.
Many of the initiatives were accelerated by the advent of the Fifa 2010 Soccer World Cup.
The MBDA was also able to get a lot done with speed because it operated with the confidence of the city fathers.
It received significant technical and financial support from development institutions, but most importantly the agency operated in a stable political environment.
This upward trajectory changed in 2016 with the advent of coalition governments, particularly post- elections when the new establishment of the day championed a different path, less supportive of a development agency model.
It was not long before funding for a robust security programme in Central was halted, a patrol and K-9-unit programme that was dealing efficiently with crime in the area.
When this programme ended, rampant vandalism and a rapid decline of Central ensued because the criminals had no-one to fear.
Today, several upgrades, including the Govan Mbeki Avenue and Parliament Street upgrades, are a shadow of what they were before 2016.
Making a rare joint appearance at Friday's event were three generations of executive mayors — Faku, Zanoxolo Wayile and Gary van Niekerk.
A shared view among them is that the historical mission of the MBDA has not yet been fully realised, and the council has all the keys to ensuring that the entity succeeds.
A highlight of the evening was the recognition of a lifetime achievement award for Legacy in Action to Faku for his immense contribution to development and leading with vision.
The award celebrates a special and outstanding individual whose long-standing work in local government has transformed communities, uplifted lives and driven sustainable programmes and progress in Nelson Mandela Bay.
During his acceptance speech, and as a challenge to the present leadership, Faku pleaded with the council to reconnect with the vision that set off the MBDA, to dedicate time to understanding the entity, and to consciously strengthen it.
It is befitting then that the MBDA closes 2025 with projected historic performance outcomes across all metrics.
The agency's annual performance targets are set in consultation with the municipality, which monitors its performance on a quarterly basis.
It is also subjected to the scrutiny of oversight bodies such as MPAC (Municipal Public Accounts Committee) and provincially by the co-operative governance department.
In the six months, the MBDA hosted an oversight visit by the provincial co-operative governance standing committee and MPAC performed oversight over the agency through site visits in June.
It is important to demonstrate once again that the MBDA prides itself on accountability as one of its values.
For the period that ended on June 30, our interim performance projections are that we will exceed performance targets, both in terms of key performance indicators (KPIs) and budget performance, with more than 80% and 90%, respectively.
These projections are historic when one considers the consistent rollovers that have been the norm over many years.
On the ground, we also recently handed over several completed projects to the municipality and continue to activate the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium commercial plan.
Recently we completed the NMB Stadium World of Windows conference facility, and in the past week we launched a new catalytic event, the North End Lake Jazz Concert, dedicated to activating the potential of the underutilised waterbody.
Next Saturday, the mighty Springboks will face off with Italy in a historic Test match that's creating a rugby frenzy in the city, all in part because of the behind-the-scenes lobbying contributions of the MBDA.
All our efforts, at the Tramways, Science Centre and at the NMB Stadium, are geared towards lessening the dependency on ratepayers and propelling the agency into becoming a sustainable entity.
This is the historical mission Faku referred to — a municipal entity that can stimulate the economy of the Bay and create job opportunities for the city's citizens.
If its 2024/2025 performance is a benchmark, then 2026 promises to unleash the full potential of the MBDA.
Anele Qaba, MBDA chief executive
The Herald
