They say that we are all products of our environment. This assertion rings true for Iipumbu Indongo who joined the public service because that is the only reality he knew. Almost everyone in his family was a civil servant. Working for the government became his immediate goal.
“Growing up, I was only surrounded by civil servants and I am talking about my parents, uncles, and aunts. We saw them paying bills and putting food on the tables, and we knew that it was because they work for the government. Naturally, we grew up to emulate that,” Indongo said.
Born and raised in Ongwediva, Indongo started primary school at Ounonge Primary School near Ongwediva, before proceeding to Omupanda Junior Secondary School. He then went to Gabriel Taapopi Senior Secondary School where he matriculated.
“I am proud to say that we were the first people to introduce grade eight at that school. That was in 1995,” Indongo revealed.He got his first taste of the civil service after matriculation, when he enlisted for the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) in November 2001.
“As I was growing up, I was impressed by my acquaintances who were in the NDF, and I followed suit. I became one of the youngest soldiers in the force. That is how I earned my first salary,” he said, adding that while he was there, he got an opportunity to further his studies.
“I joined the Polytechnic of Namibia (now the Namibia University of Science and Technology) where I obtained a diploma in human resources management in 2008, and a Bachelor of Technology in Human Resources Management in 2010,” Indongo said.
Besides that, Indongo also holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Labour Relations and Human Resources, which he obtained from Nelson Mandela University, South Africa, in 2018.
He served in the army for 10 years but eventually switched to a role in another government agency.
“I got a job with the ministry of education in Mariental. It was at that time when decentralisation was taking place and I was posted to the Hardap Regional Council as a human resource practitioner,” he said.
Admittedly, he did not step into the corridors of the regional council as a know-it-all. As such, he was quick to give credit where it is due. “I want to give credit to Elma de Koker, one of the HR practitioners at the regional council, who shared the practical knowledge on how to do the job with me. I think she is still with the ministry of education,” he said.
Indongo served the ministry of education for two years before landing a job at the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare as a senior labour inspector, in 2011. “I was the very first labour inspector to open an office in Khorixas where I was deployed. I served there for a year and got transferred to Otjiwarongo where I spent some four years, before earning my promotion as the chief labour inspector, in 2014,” Indongo revealed.
He further said he flirted with the private sector when he landed a job as the group human resource manager for a private entity, in 2019. He stayed there for close to two years, but his journey in the private sector, he said, was cut short with the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, which hit his employers very hard because of the industry they are venturing in.
They say, when all endeavours fail, turn back, and walk towards your previous destination, and in June 2021, according to Indongo, he rejoined the ministry of labour as a control labour inspector - the position that he currently holds.
On the job
As a control labour inspector, according to Indongo, his job is to coordinate the activities of the region he is assigned to.
“We have five regions which are the north, south, central, etcetera. I am coordinating the activities of the central region on a high level. Meaning, I verify the work of the inspectors, through the chief inspector and then guide and mentor the new inspectors who are joining the system by checking their reports and verifying the information before it goes to the next level,” Indongo revealed.
This mentorship, he said, also extends to people who are seeking information or the interpretation of the Labour Act, as well as employers.
Every job comes with its set of challenges and Indongo’s position is not an exception. To him, there is nothing more frustrating than planning to execute a certain project and learning that you are short of the resources needed for its successful completion.
“This can be budgetary constraints since the economy is not doing so well at the moment, or the shortage of human capital.” He stressed that he has been tasked with overseeing a vast region which extends from Windhoek to Gobabis, Walvis Bay and Omaruru and with that comes a serious need for resources and funds.
Rewards
Be that as it may, Indongo keeps showing up for work. This is because his job, he said, is rewarding. More so, because of the positive impacts that it has on the lives of people. Said Indongo; “Labour issues are depressing and giving people hope can be very rewarding. Also, having people coming back to thank you and the government for having rectified an issue that had a bearing on their livelihoods is equally fulfilling.”
But how did he become so comfortable on this site; one may ask. Years of experience and dealing with people from all walks of life had a role to play in this. Also, having been in the army where he was trained to assess different situations and the emotional discipline that comes with it was enough preparation for him to handle this role.
Queried on the perception that all civil servants are lazy and largely ineffective, Indongo called on the masses to desist from painting the entire civil service with the same brush.
“Government is an institution like any other and yes there is room for improvement. But it is worth noting that there are people in the system who are determined to give it their best and to execute their work to their fullest potential and on time,” he stressed.
According to the long-serving civil servant, it is difficult for him to put a timeline on how long he is still planning to work for the government because one never knows what the future holds.
“But as long as no other opportunity comes knocking, I will remain here and give it my best,” he said.
He called on the decision-makers within the ministry to consider putting more resources in the division of labour inspectorate to enable them to “have more foot soldiers on the ground”.