Pierre Voges, who established the Mandela Bay Development Agency in 2004, has been appointed interim CEO for five months to stabilise the organisation after recent leadership challenges.
Voges left the agency in 2016 and returned to Nelson Mandela Bay this week after heading organisations in the Western Cape and Saudi Arabia. The appointment follows the suspension of former CEO Anele Qaba in December 2025 and his dismissal in March 2026 for material breach, misconduct and loss of trust.
Unathi Peter served as acting CEO from January until early July 2026. Voges said his focus will be on basics such as security, cleanliness and maintenance rather than new projects.
“I’ve always had a passion for Nelson Mandela Bay,” Voges said. He noted that walking from the agency offices to his flat in Summerstrand had become unsafe in the evenings.
The agency received 88 applications for the role. Voges will serve until the end of the five-month period.
