VICTORIA WOLF and OKERI NGUTJINAZO asked Nangula Uaandja several questions last month – on her philosophy and what keeps her going.
Here is what she had to say:
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Nangula is a simple person who loves God, family and Namibia. I was born in a small village in the far north part of Namibia, Etomba, over four decades ago. That is where I grew up and went to schools in Ongwediva, Oshakati, Oshela (Okongo) and Eenhana before I went in exile to collect what they call ‘Okatalashe’. This means we were the people that went to exile just around 24 months or less before independence.
I am a straightforward, transparent and very loud person. I say what I mean, and I mean what I say. My personality can be quite offensive and perceived as abrupt but to those that know me, I am a very harmless and loving person. I am hard on myself and others but at the same time I give people an opportunity, the benefit of the doubt and I will protect and defend them with everything I have.
So, here it goes … wake up as late as possible, do quiet time and prayer. Have a day full of meetings mainly with clients, staff and/or other stakeholders. After that I will have some chats with the family after which I will do some actual studying and review audit files, while watching a good movie/series/soccer/news. Then go to bed as late as possible after having read my Bible and prayed for at least an hour. So, basically I am a late riser and a late nighter.
I was brought up by parents who are generous and dedicated their lives to loving, serving people and sharing whatever they have, even if it impacted their business negatively. I did not appreciate this when I was young, but as I grow I think I am becoming more and more like them in terms of loving Namibia. I believe that upbringing combined with my Christian values shaped my philosophy. So, when they ask me to complete the sentence ‘life is a …’, I would say ‘responsibility’. I believe too many people have too many rights, and we need more people to assume the responsibility to serve, love, care, make a difference and challenge. I hope one day I will look back and be able to say that was me.
I am a simple and apparently ‘naïve’ person. I tend to believe the best about people and to see the positive in every situation. So, I barely pay attention to and keep record of obstacles. I also do not accept ‘no’ for an answer. So, when I face an obstacle, I persevere. As I mature, I am, however, learning to know the difference between what I can change or what I cannot change.
As a result, I have started accepting some noes, but that is after I reflect on and pray about the matter. If I make a decision to pursue, then it means all obstacles will have to give way.
The one obstacle I faced in the first few months of my career was a language barrier. I am from the north of Namibia where we were not taught Afrikaans, and when I joined the business world, I found out that Afrikaans was the official business language at the time. In the first few months I responded with all kinds of emotions and goal setting, but in the end, I accepted that numbers, not languages, were my strength.
What a difficult question. I consider myself blessed to have been part of a great team with whom I believe we have had quite a few accomplishments at PwC.
I believe the training and development of skills for Namibia, transformation at PwC, and the pleasure of serving most of Namibia’s iconic brands have been some of our greatest accomplishments. I believe PwC’s achievement of training young professionals is why I have been with the firm for many years, and that is the dream I have bought into.
The numbers of PwC-trained chartered accountants (CAs) and other professionals have grown significantly over the years. There were times we qualified five or fewer CAs per annum, but for the past number of years we have qualified in excess of 10 CAs annually. By about 2015 the firm had qualified 30% of the country’s CAs.
The percentage of CAs we qualified from previously racially disadvantaged backgrounds has increased to about 45% to 55% annually. In addition, our overall staff complement is comprised of more than 60% previously disadvantaged Namibians, and mind you, these are mostly skilled and highly skilled employees.
I usually never look at myself in any specific category and please do not misunderstand me. I am proud of my gender, but I am first and foremost a human being and a professional, and I got to where I am today by focusing on that. I believe viewing myself as a woman can be limiting, and it can also cause me to see what is not there to see. Thus, I built my career on being a simple person who is there to serve, grow and make a difference. I value diversity and I have driven that at PwC, but I have always wanted and only asked for equal opportunity and recognition for what I deliver – nothing less, nothing more.
I believe all these challenges are equally important and need the same level of attention. That is why we have so many people with different passions and callings so that we can focus on the different areas at the same time.
As a nation, we are blessed with abundant resources, and if we strategise and plan in a collaborative manner, I am quite positive that we can enhance our resources and earn significant returns that will enable us to tackle all these challenges.
In life, there will always be mistakes and I believe I have made my fair share of those. However, I have few regrets, I believe life is a journey of learning. We will face challenges and while ‘hindsight is the best teacher’ as they say, with limited information and resources at hand one will always end up saying ‘if only’.
