Where she comes from, according to Hambeleleni Haipinge-Mika, working for the government is a prestigious achievement that is every young child’s dream.
So, when she received the phone call that heralded her appointment at the Office of the Auditor-General this year, her first reaction was to send a silent message to God.
“My first thought was to thank God for giving me a job that offers me job security,” she told New Era this week.
Secondly, she said, she was excited because it meant she could make a national contribution to her trade, seeing that government-funded her studies.
“I will always be grateful to the government for contributing to my success in life. That is why I always give 100% in my work,” she maintained.
Haipinge-Mika was born on 25 April 1985 in Omungwelume in the Ohangwena region. She is the firstborn of five siblings.
“I started primary education at Omungwelume Primary School and completed secondary school at Eengedjo Secondary School,” she said, adding that growing up, she had a passion for putting things together and constructing and deconstructing.
It is no wonder upon matriculation, she was adamant to pursue an engineering career, a field she said she found to be fascinating – more so for a young girl in the early 2000s.
“I completed my first vocational education and training (VET) qualification at the Namibia Institute of Mining and Technology (NIMT), Arandis, in air-conditioning and refrigeration. I was one of the three girls in a class dominated by boys but this did not deter me,” she revealed, adding she then obtained the Level 3 Trade Certificate funded by Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF).
Thereafter, she landed a few other jobs in the private sector and furthered her education to the level of a B Degree in Commerce before joining the public service as an artisan foreman in April this year at the Office of the Auditor-General, where she currently works.
“Before joining the public service, I was working as a maintenance planner in the mining sector with Skorpion Zinc. I was sadly retrenched due to the economic downturn in the sector as affected by the pandemic in 2020,” she said, adding that this did not dampen her spirits because “the best part of being trained in VET programmes is you can always continue working on your own without being employed by an employer.”
Responsibilities
As an artisan foreman, Haipinge-Mika oversees the work of four artisans. She is quick to point out that all her four subordinates are men.
“Challenging as it may seem, it is the trade of the work that we do that close the gap of gender diversity because as an artisan, there is no gender or ethnicity or anything,” she stressed.
Her day-to-day activities include coming up with a maintenance budget and plan, after which she sees through to the implementation stage.
“In a nutshell, being a foreman requires a lot of hands-on daily activities both in the office and the field,” she said.
Among these tasks are activities, such as drawing up quarterly work plans and budgets to ensure the office gets the best maintenance services.
It also requires that she submit reports on accidents and losses incurred within her sub-division.
“In the field, I need to make sure the artisans who report to me do their work to the best of their abilities and according to what has been handed to them. I need to make constructive business decisions that are in the best interest of the office as the trade expert,” she stressed.
The fieldwork, according to Haipinge-Mika, further requires her to keep account and manage the allocated materials, equipment and maintenance of government infrastructure.
“Working for the auditors, our internal audit team always does verification of our work to ensure transparent accountability,” she said.
Haipinge-Mika maintained it is difficult to say what is challenging about her work because she enjoys every bit of it.
However, she finds it a little challenging when working with external clients (suppliers of materials and goods).
“Feedback and communication are big deal breakers when working with these crucial stakeholders; however, we still manage at the end of the day to get the job done efficiently and effectively,” she said.
She finds the most rewarding thing about her job is the fact that she ensures a conducive working environment for all OAG staff members.
“Even now, the moment a pipe bursts in our registry department, we are there to rescue all office documents and ensure the safety of colleagues,” she relished.
“We ensure a safe and healthy working environment for public servants. When your air conditioner is working, you have clean water to wash your hands, electricity to warm your food and so forth – won’t it make you a more productive employee?” she queried.
“Now, we contribute toward ensuring a conducive working environment for employees, which in the bigger picture leads to happy working public servants and excellent customer service in the public service. It is things we take for granted but switches off all those services and you will see how public servants complain,” the well-spoken Haipinge-Mika further said, adding that she is proud to have been party to many a crisis management situation at the OAG, especially during times high-level delegations was visiting this state entity.
Working for GOVT
Haipinge-Mika is quick to reveal government allows its employees to come up with innovative and creative ideas to safeguard its assets.
“By this, I mean, the government is not like the private sector which has big budgets for its maintenance plan implementations. Therefore, we need to think on our feet and come up with innovations to economise government resources. I like that because it pushes me beyond relying on money to fix wrong things but it prompts me to come up with DIY ideas that are quick and effective,” she said proudly.
Haipinge-Mika, unequivocally, rubbished the popular misconception that civil servants are lazy, bringing to the fore the situation at the OAG.
She plans to remain in public service for as long as she can make a difference in the lives of public servants and the public at large.
Professionally, she would like to rise on the ladder within the maintenance department of her office to make a much more significant contribution to her trade.
“My wish list includes furthering my studies and capacitating other youngsters in the trade of especially electrical engineering and changing the paradigm that exists that engineering is only meant for boys,” she concluded.