Nishendra Moodley announced as new CEO of the EDP
Author: Ashoek Adhikari, EDP Board Chair
The EDP’s Board announces the appointment of Nishendra Moodley as the new CEO, who will take over from Andrew Boraine in early 2023
11 November 2022 – The EDP Board is pleased to announce Nishendra Moodley’s appointment as the incoming CEO of the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership (EDP), to take over from outgoing CEO Andrew Boraine on 15 January 2023, with a handover period planned.
From left to right: Andrew Boraine, EDP CEO; incoming EDP CEO Nishendra Moodley; Gill Cullinan, EDP Operations Executive, and EDP Board Chair Ashoek Adhikari. Source: EDP
Following an extensive and very rigorous process to identify the new CEO, the EDP Board agreed that Nishendra’s personal qualities and track record across sectors are the best fit to lead the organisation into its next decade.
Nishendra has 27 years of experience in the development sector in South Africa, having played a wide range of roles across the private, non-profit and public sectors, at national, provincial and local levels. These include leading roles in Future Cities South Africa, National Treasury’s Cities Support Programme, Palmer Development Group and City of Cape Town, variously aimed at strengthening governance, policy development, transformation and accountability.
Nishendra has extensive experience in public finance, institutional development and intergovernmental relations, environment and sustainability, water services, municipal systems, sustainable urban systems, and public sector governance. He is also the co-author of ‘Building a Capable State’, which examines local service delivery in South Africa and the complex relationship between government and communities.
In addition, Nishendra plays an active voluntary leadership role in civil society, particularly at the interface between state and citizens. This provides him with a strong sense of community needs and the critical role of civil society and business in working with government to deliver what citizens require. It also demonstrates Nishendra’s commitment to the EDP’s principles of partnering and collaboration, including trust building, strengthening cross-sectoral relationships, mutual accountability and inclusion.
With this in mind, we believe that Nishendra is ideally suited to be the next CEO of the EDP, whose main role as a collaborative intermediary is to help organise and sustain relationships of trust between sectors to improve South Africa’s development outcomes.
Nishendra says “I am excited to lead the EDP into a new era that builds on what has already been achieved. Working with the team I intend to strengthen this unique organisation which has ten years of relationship-building success. Amongst the many challenges that face us today, energy security and an effective rail network are critical to the Western Cape’s economic success. These are examples of sectors where we must target our impact by consolidating and growing the organisational capability of the EDP and broadening its relationships with partners locally, nationally and in the international community.”
After ten years of valued service, Andrew will be stepping down as the founding CEO of the EDP and away from a management role, yet will continue working as a partnering practitioner in the development sector and maintain his association with the EDP.
Andrew says: “I’m delighted to welcome Nishendra as the incoming CEO and look forward to supporting him in this role. Having worked with him for many years in South Africa’s development sector, I know we share similar values, principles, and approaches. I think he is the ideal person to steer the EDP into its next stage of growth and influence. In an increasingly low-trust, low-agreement environment in South Africa, the role of collaborative intermediary organisations like the EDP is more important than ever and Nishendra is committed to leading this bridging role within government and between government and the rest of society.”
We look forward to communicating further on Nishendra’s arrival and the EDP’s new directions with you over the coming months.
Ashoek Adhikari, EDP Board Chair