Following an internal recruitment process guided by the Recruitment, Selection and Promotion Policy of the MBDA, the entity is pleased to announce the full-time appointment of Mr Luvuyo Bangazi to the post of Corporate Services Executive, effective from the 15th of April 2024.

The court victory awarded by the Gqeberha High Court in favour of the MBDA for the urgent release of unlawfully withheld funds to the entity is a victory for service delivery. Unfortunately, once again the citizens of the Metro must bear the financial cost, but even more severe are the development opportunities lost over the nine-month stand-off. When I was appointed on the 22nd of June 2023, this entity had already been hard at work reinventing itself into a dynamic, sustainable, and agile development agency to spearhead some of the long stalled catalytic projects, to turn around the degradation of Central and turn the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium into a commercially attractive operation, but all of that was scuppered by political interference and unlawful actions which have now been confirmed by the High Court.

It is rather fitting for the MBDA to celebrate its 20th year in existence with a Clean Audit Report from the Auditor General of South Africa. The entity was established in 2003 in an effort by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality to reverse urban decay in the Inner City.

In early 2018 the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality tasked the MBDA to champion a competitive campaign call for a major catalytic project that could put the city amongst the top in the world. The initiative invited every citizen to sketch an ambitious design that they believed, if followed through, could make the Bay a competitive and successful tourism and investment destination.  An esteemed panel comprising architects, academics, and social scientists was established to
evaluate the submissions and recommend to the Mayoral committee. Tens of submissions were received, but in the end, a consortium led by a former Bay resident, and leader of a global creative agency won the competition. MC Saatchi and Partners whos’ s submission was, The Nelson Mandela Tower of Light, was positioned as an iconic legacy development that could leverage our namesake and draw millions to our city.

17 January 2023, more than two hundred event organizations, practitioners and various players within that value chain have responded to the call by the MBDA operated Tramways Events and Conference facility, to join a networking, knowledge sharing, and industry improvement workshop on Wednesday the 18 th of January 2023.