Our board members are well-respected, highly qualified experts with significant collective insight into industry, politics, economic and infrastructure development, business, administration, finance, sustainability and investment. They have been carefully selected for their professionalism, knowledge and in-depth understanding of the complexity of managing mega-projects like the Special Economic Zone (SEZ). They also maintain the vision and strategic direction of the organisation, linking it locally, nationally and internationally through industry and business networks, particularly as the CDC expands to assist local, provincial and national government with a number of key social and infrastructure development programmes.

The founding members in particular continue to give their support to the organization and to other board members. Collectively, their institutional knowledge and organisational understanding contribute to maintaining strategic direction and objectives. All board members, however, play an active role in defining, shaping, monitoring and evaluating the annual performance outcomes of the CDC against its overall objectives and bring to the organisation their wealth of knowledge and experience.

BATANDWA DAMOYI: CHAIRPERSON
Appointed: 2023

Ms Batandwa Damoyi is a Chartered Accountant, with more than 17 years’ experience. She has served as on Coega’s non-executive Board of Directors since 2019.

Damoyi has worked in senior accounting, auditing, and risk management roles at South African state-owned enterprises as well as in the private sector at leading accounting and professional services firm’s operations in South Africa and the Netherlands. She is currently a Director at Libana Consulting (Pty) Ltd.

Prior key positions include Chief Financial Officer of BAIC Pty Ltd located in the Coega Special Economic Zone, Chief Financial Officer of African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation - a state owned mining company established to secure South Africa’s energy supply; Special Services Group Manager; and completed her articles at Deloitte’s Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Amsterdam offices. Further to her contribution at the Coega Development Corporation, Damoyi is a non-executive director at Innowind Power Projects - Chaba Pty Ltd, Waainek Wind Power Pty Ltd and Grassridge (Pty) Ltd; and the Steve Biko Academic Hospital. She provides oversight and advisory in areas of financial management and corporate finance, auditing, risk management, good corporate governance, and business strategy development. She was also a postgraduate studies external marker for the University of South Africa from 2012 to 2017.

KHWEZI TIYA: CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Appointed: 2021

Mr. Tiya holds a BSc. Civil Eng. (University of Natal, South Africa); an MBA (Nyenrode Business Universiteit, the Netherlands) and a MSc. Financial Management (SOAS, University of London, UK). As part of his senior executive development, he has completed the Advanced Management Programme (The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA). Mr. Tiya has attended the Harvard Business School’s 2014 Global Energy Seminar, which has helped shape his thinking and understanding of the energy transitions. He is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) since 2005, as a testimony to his understanding of the overall requirements for complex project development and project management.

He began his career as an engineer in 1992, working on multidisciplinary projects. Before joining his former employer, Standard Bank Corporate & Investment Banking in 2010, where he was the Head of the Oil & Gas and Public Sectors (South Africa) in the Client Coverage Division, he worked for the CDC from 1999 in a variety of senior and executive roles in strategy, operations and business development.

NOMONDE MTEMBU

Appointed: 2019

Nomonde Mtembu has worked at Tescor in various positions such as Hydro Plant Operator at First Falls and Collywobbles, from 1987 to 1991 then became a senior invoice clerk until 1995, when Eskom took over Tescor in 1995 after the 1994 elections, she held various positions, such as an Operations Controller, Administration controller, Materials Requirement Planner (MRP) Controller and Special Projects. From 2013 until 2018, she was the Senior MRP Controller.

She holds a qualification in Labour Law from the Nelson Mandela University, a Higher Certificate (CumLaude) in Economic Development from the University of Western Cape, a Diploma in Supply Chain Management from the Institution CS Holdings Midrand and a Certificate in Labour Studies from the Natal Technikon.

She completed a three-year National Diploma in Human Resource Management from the Southern Business School in 2019.





PHILA XUZA
Appointed: 2019

Phila Xuza is the Director and founder of the Centre for Small Towns Regeneration (Pty) Ltd. She holds an MA degree in Geography from the University of Witwatersrand and has over 25-years’ experience as a strategist, scholar and practitioner of spatial economic development in small towns.

Phila’s interests are developing small town regeneration strategies for municipalities, conducting leadership training in small town regeneration and small town research studies. She has completed projects and assignments in SA, Botswana and Namibia. She seats on the Board of Directors of a number of municipal and government entities. She has published widely on economic development, particularly relating to sustainable regional economies. She lives between Alice, Chintsa (Eastern Cape), and Cape Town (Western Cape).





PHELISA NKOMO
Appointed: 2021

Ms Nkomo is part of catalytic Gender Empowerment initiatives in South Africa as a lead development economist for the Women’s Economic Assembly (WECONA) a multi-sectorial initiative which facilitate public sector procurement and economic opportunities through access to supply chain. The assembly advocates for creation of opportunities for women’s equitable participation in the economy and fostering multiplier effects for sustainable development and finance for development.

In 2021 Ms Nkomo was part of establishment of Gender Based Violence and Femicide Response Fund as a technical advisor, this is a multi-sectorial private sector led enterprise which was launched in February 2021. Ms Nkomo has recently been appointed as Chair of OXFAM Board.

Phelisa Nkomo is a focused strategic thinker who relies on her expertise to drive change. She is forward-thinking and subscribes to collaborative, ethical and transformative leadership as well as diversity and inclusion. She is an optimist who is driven by impact and relish at leadership role.

She is a Development Economist, with eight (8) years’ working experience as an Economic Policy Advisor in the Public Sector with combined exposure in Socio-Economic Justice and Human Rights Civil Society Organizations, Legislative Development, Partnership Development, Sustainability (ESG) and Grant-making organizations for nine (9) years.

Some of the recent highlights in her career include:

• Between 2018 and 2019, Ms Nkomo served as the ANC Elections Economic Spokesperson.
• In 2019, she founded a Development Consultancy in 2019
• In 2020, she worked as the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) Turnaround Technical Advisory (PRASA Administrators office).

Ms Nkomo’s other roles include:

• Strategic Economic Advisor for the Department of Gauteng Economic Development from 2014 to 2019
• Economic Policy Advisor at the Department of Public Enterprises from 2011 to 2014
• National Advocacy at the Black Sash from 2009 to 2011
• Business Tourism Marketing Manager at the Cape Town Routes Unlimited from 2005 to 2006
• Media Project Officer at the Open Society Foundation of South Africa (OSF-SA) from 2003 to 2005
• Administrative Controller of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa- National Council of Provinces (NCOP), from 2001 to 2003
• Administration Officer at the South African Municipal Workers Union - (SAMWU affiliate of COSATU) from 1999 – 2001

Ms Nkomo has served in several Boards and acquired a depth of knowledge in areas like Pragmatic Leadership principles, Corporate Governance principles, Strategy Development, Risk Management, and lateral thinking. Currently, her Board and Executive roles include, Commonwealth Entrepreneurs Club; Independent Development Trust; OXFAM South Africa, NEDLAC Macro-Economic Working Group - Studies in Inequality and Poverty; BRICS Gender Working Group; Gender Based Violence and Femicide Response Fund Working Group. Her previous Board roles include MDDA from 2011 to 2019 and AGRISETA from 2012 to 2019.

She has an Honors Degree in Economics from the University of Western Cape (2008); Post Graduate Diploma in Economic Policy from the University of Western Cape (2007); Post Graduate Diploma in Economic Policy from the University of the Western Cape (2007); Diploma in Public Relations from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (2004); and Advanced Certificate in Community Development & Project Management from the Beit Bell Collage (Israel) (1996). She has also completed the Executive Leadership Program at the Gordon Institute Business School (GIBS) (2016). Ms Nkomo is currently studying towards her Master’s in development finance at the University of Stellenbosch, Business School.

Her research interest arrays from development economics, gender, empowerment, social policy & economy, public finance, international economics/ trade policy, tax incentives, rural development, food security, aid effectiveness and labor economics. Ms Nkomo is also part of Stellenbosch University Development Economic research team which recently published an Alternative Economic Policy for South Africa called new wine on new skin under the leadership of Chair of Law Trust and Social Justice at University of Stellenbosch, Prof Thuli Madonsela. Ms Nkomo is also involved in South African Women in Dialogue, Chairs ILO 190 on Gender based violence in a workplace committee, COVID-19 Economist Initiative, Collective Action against Gender Based Violence and United Nations Generation Equality Movement.