First lady still warming up to the title

SHE may be the First Lady but Monica Geingos says the title ‘Her Excellency’ still confuses her.

Addressing delegates to the Southern Africa Mandela Washington Fellowship Regional Conference in Johannesburg last week, Geingos said when she was called by her new title “Your Excellency” she continued walking.

Geingos said she had to apologise to the delegate, saying: “If I looked confused when you called this morning, it is because I am not used to being called your excellency, so I continued walking and then I realised… she’s talking to me! If I am insensitive to the title of a young African leader, please forgive me.”

As one of the keynote motivational speakers at the conference, Geingos shared her experience on the success of her equity company Stimulus, which she started managing at 27 and is a shareholder.

“The reason I could do that is because Namibia, like many other countries has got a significant skills shortage, and what that means for many young Africans is that you are exposed to opportunities that in other countries you would probably not have, given your age,” she said.

Geingos said people should refrain from self-limiting characterisation ranging from “I’m a black female leader” or “I’m a young African leader”.

“These things sometimes create a mindset that if I don’t get a certain position, then maybe it is because I’m black, maybe it is because I’m female, maybe it is because I’m young, so I often reject these types of titles,” she said.

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