Pankratius Kondjamba

Oranjemund mayor Pankratius Kondjamba reflects on a challenging yet rewarding 2025, highlighting endurance sport, professional growth, and lessons in grit and purpose.

• 2025 was?

Hectic (from a professional space) but rewarding at building the grit muscle. Anyone working in the diamond mining industry will understand what I mean. The year was also beautiful (from an endurance sport side of things). I was able to complete the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon (56 km) in Cape Town, the Comrades Marathon (90 km) between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, the Bachmus Coastal Marathon (42 km between Swakop and Walvis Bay) and the Desert Dash (401km in a four-man team). The atmosphere and landscape views at and during these events are just phenomenal.

• 2026 will be?

Interesting and challenging given the additional responsibilities I have taken up. Balancing the professional, public office and personal spaces will require endurance and stillness.

• Last three things you spent money on?

• – Desert Dash. Things like servicing of bikes, food, gels, etcetera.
• – School fees for 2026.
• – Fuel for festive season.

• What was the last text you sent?

Thank you! Much appreciated.

• What has 2025 taught you?

Work is meant to be enjoyed. We must stop stressing ourselves, as well as others, and allow ourselves to unwrap our gifts of talent, skills and expertise. The benefits are enormous. This doesn’t mean we should not be diligent and hold ourselves accountable for what we do and what we choose not to do. Another lesson was: life, by design, is unfair so that it can help you become the best version of yourself. When tough times and challenges surface, see them as an ore (material) to develop your grit quotient. Lastly, we are not here, on Earth, to do small and easy things only. Find your moral ambition and act without delay.

• What is the single most important quote or line of text that defined your outlook in 2025?

Pronioa (the opposite of paranoia), the belief that the universe is conspiring in your favour.

• If artificial intelligence (AI) could magically fix one everyday task for you, what would you pick?

A daily reminder of priorities, requests and tasks across all my inboxes.

• What was the song you played most this year?

‘Inotila’ by Ras Sheehama.

• What put your office or sector in the spotlight?

Everyone working in the diamond mining industry will tell you about a depressed market.

• What is your dream Namibian holiday destination?

I am not that big on pure holiday’ing. I have incorporated holidays into sport activities. For example, the Nedbank Desert Dash allowed me to experience some of the breathtaking views between Windhoek and Swakop (across the desert)… but I would like to visit Sandwich Harbour, where the desert meets the Atlantic Ocean, one day.

• What was the toughest decision you made in 2025, and why?

Making myself available to run for local authority councillor. This is the decision that had the most consultations with mixed feedback from those I consulted. This is not a space that most professionals participate in. We choose to be in the background and criticise those that step up.

• Most overrated trend or idea?

Most, if not all, trends are overrated BUT content creation (which is unedited and not fact-checked) on social media is damaging in many ways. We should focus on doing what is purposeful, meaningful and impactful.

• Biggest blunder of 2025?

Maybe not so big but we bought a mattress last minute before the Desert Dash because we realised we will need to nap and sleep BUT we didn’t buy any blanket or throws. We ended up not using the mattress.

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