The deputy director at Oshikoto Regional Council Tutu Haukena has urged institutions of public service to invest in career development, stating this is the most effective way to get workers engaged, motivated, productive and just genuinely excited about coming to work each day.

Haukena made a comment while responding to a question regarding the public misconception that people who are working in public institutions are unproductive and inefficient. “Namibia is a hard-working nation – and for employees to be labelled could be attributed to barriers that might force them into such conditions. For example, it is either they are demoralised, de-motivated or the working environment is unbearable,” he said.

Haukena joined the public service in 2007, shortly after completing his first qualification at the University of Namibia. He was employed as an administrative officer at the thenministry of education’s head office in Windhoek. He served in various capacities within the government.

Among the positions he served include being a private secretary, a parliamentary clerk at the National Assembly, a control administrative officer as well an acting control health programme (public relations) officer at the Ministry of Health and Social Services. He also served as manager of human resources and corporate affairs in that ministry.

Currently, Haukena is heading the administration division for Oshikoto Regional Council as the deputy director. “I am supervising 14 control administrative officers, one systems administrator and one senior public relations officer. Obviously, there are other functional levels below them, which makes my division the biggest. Last time I checked my staffing structure, I had 113 employees in my division,” he said. When asked about what gets him excited about his job, Haukena had this to say: “I get so excited when I see people promoted”. He said, this week, he received an appointment letter from one of his senior administrative officers, who got promoted elsewhere to the position of chief administrative officer. “You should have seen the joy I had in my heart. I rejoiced so loud in the office as if I was the one that got the promotion,” he said.

His responsibi lities are procurement management, fleet management, assets management, approving payments and expenditures on the Pastel Sage Evolution System, public relations and corporate communication, information and communication t e c h n o l o g y, me e t i n g s administration, disaster risk management, constituency support and settlement administration.

Besides that, Haukena is also serving in the following committees: head of the procurement management unit, ex-officio member and secretary of the procurement committee, chairperson of the fleet management committee, chairperson of the loss and damages committee, member of the regional implementation team, member of the training committee, as well as a member of the regional council customer service charter implementation committee.

Haukena holds qualifications in various fields, including public administration (regional and local government), journalism and communication technology and human resources management. He is pursuing his postgraduate in procurement management at the Namibia University of Science and Technology Narrating his journey into government, Haukena revealed it started in 2006 when his mother told him and his siblings she was retiring at the beginning of the next year. “Being young, my concern was where I would get funds to pay for my tuition fees. Hence, my everyday routine was to first check on the notice board to see whether there were vacancies until February 2007,” he said, adding that he was subsequently called for an interview for an administrative officer position, and he was hired.

Haukena said getting a job in education relieved his mother from paying, as he started paying his tuition fees Challenges The most challenging part about his job, according to Haukena, is supervising people from diverse cultures as well as conflict management. “Even though it is not an easy thing, with my vast experience, I’ve learned how to manage people, as well as to ensure that I include them in the decision-making process,” he maintained.

He said he is grateful to work for government, as it continues to groom him and boost his expertise. He cited as an example the fact that when the Public Procurement Act, 2015 (Act No. 15 of 2015) was implemented with effect from 1 April 2017, he was a control administrative officer at the ministry of health.

According to him, implementing the Act and trying to procure various pharmaceuticals, medical and clinical supplies, as well as non-health related items and consumables, proved to be a daunting task. “Even though it was a rough journey, I always look back now whenever we’re trying to procure something that we did at health and relate the experience,” he enthused.

Here to stay 

Haukena maintains that as much as it is not easy being the head of the procurement management unit (PMU), the advice he gives to the procurement committee and accounting officer is always in line with the procurement legal framework. “C omp l i a n c e a n d transparency are very important. With the connections of various PMU former colleagues, friends and classmates, I would always call to seek further advice, so that we guide each other on the implementation of certain parts of the Act,” Haukena stated.

Seemingly, the public service has found a loyal servant in Haukena, as he is not planning to go anywhere anytime soon. “I am excited about public service. At some point, I took up the offer as a manager: human resources, administration and corporate affairs at a local authority. But I found myself back in the public service again,” he said.