The MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Environmental Affairs, Mr Mcebisi Jonas, is pleased to announce the appointment of Advocate Oyama Mabandla as the new Chairperson of the board of directors of the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC).
Advocate Mabandla takes over from Mr Bheki Sibiya who resigned at the end of last year to take up a post as the Executive Director at the University of Witwatersrand Business School.
MEC Jonas congratulated Mr Sibiya on his appointment and thanked him for his impeccable contribution in leading the board of the ECDC during the hardship of economic meltdown. Commenting on the appointment of Advocate Mabandla, he said:
“A decision to appoint a new chairperson of the board was imperative as the ECDC is one of the major contributing public entities in fast-tracking economic activities in the Eastern Cape. Securing skills of a seasoned leader of the calibre of Advocate Mabandla in leading the board of the corporation will contribute in the current processes of streamlining activities of the organisation. The appointment of Advocate Mabandla will assist the corporation as a developmental institution to exert more impact in the diversification of economic growth in the province.
“Advocate Mabandla has a proven track record and we believe his wealth of experience will contribute to steer the corporation as it is about to implement the process of re-engineering its strategic direction.”
Advocate Mabandla holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California at San Diego and a Juris Doctorate from Columbia University School of Law in New York City. He is a former Group Chairman of Vodacom Group, Executive Chairman of the Langa Group, a corporate investment company and also chairman of Consol Glass (Proprietary) Limited. He is also a former representative of the Telkom South Africa Limited and joined board in 2006, former deputy chief executive officer of South African Airways (SAA), which he also served as general counsel and executive vice president for strategy, revenue management and network planning. In the mid 1990s he worked as a merchant banker at Union Bank of Switzerland. He later became a member of the Johannesburg Bar.
The Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) is a dynamic economic development agency in the Eastern Cape. ECDC was formed in 1996 by an act of the Eastern Cape legislature to plan, finance, coordinate, market, promote and implement the development of the Eastern Cape province and all its people in the fields of industry, commerce, agriculture, transport and finance.
The ECDC works with provincial and national ministries, municipalities, chambers, private business, communities and other development agencies to implement the economic development policies of the Eastern Cape provincial government. ECDC reports to an independent board of directors representing all stakeholders in the Eastern Cape. The directors are appointed by the Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs. ECDC is the official economic development and investment agency for the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. ECDC is wholly owned by the Eastern Cape government.
The intentions of the ECDC are to:
* attract new investors and position the Eastern Cape as the investment target of choice
* stimulate exports
* facilitate economic development
* derive value from assets, including the large property portfolio
* build existing businesses
* facilitate start-up businesses
For further information contact:
Nkosohlanga Mboniswa
Chief of Staff
Cell: 082 200 4756
E-mail: Nkosohlanga.mboniswa@treasury.ecprov.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Finance, Economic Development and Environmental Affairs, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
16 January 2010
Source: Eastern Cape Provincial Government (http://www.ecprov.gov.za/)
