TONATENI SHIDHUDHUIT WAS ALWAYS “natumbwanguleni vakwe”, which translates to “let’s work, colleagues”, from former executive director of finance Ericah Shafudah.
And her greatness has certainly rubbed off on those who have worked with her.
A firm believer in excellence and hard work, the Ministry of Finance bade her farewell in July.
Some call her ‘Meme Shafudah’, a continuous learner and firm believer in distinction.
She left to join another equally important public service-centred organisation, and will continue to serve the Namibian nation from there.
However, her departure surprised many in the ministry.
Born at Eendadi da Shafudah village in the Ohangwena region, she wields power, knowledge, wisdom, patriotism and dedication to duty.
She is one of the few top government leaders Namibia has ever had, and ought to be celebrated by all.
She is the daughter of tate Shafudah shaHeishi yaNghililewanga and meme Rosalia Vanyenga yaShilola.
Her second name is Paendelenga, which means “a chief has walked there”, and she has walked the corridors of the ministry.
Shafudah is one of her father’s 56 children – the grandson of a prominent traditional leader in the history of the Oukwanyama, Tatekulu Nghililewanga yaShinangolo.
Her mother died while she was a young girl and she moved to Onamunama village to live with her aunt.
She grew up in a Christian family, and is still an active member of the St Michael Anglican Church in Windhoek.
Like many young people those days, she crossed into Angola in 1978 to join thousands of Namibians fighting for independence.
She is one of the survivors of the Cassinga massacre, and was among the Swapo youths sent to Cuba for studies shortly after the massacre. She stayed in Cuba for 12 years and obtained among her many accolades a master’s degree in education.
Upon her return from exile in 1990, she took up a mathematics teaching post at Haimbili Haufiku Senior Secondary School in the Ohangwena region, before moving to Paressiss Secondary School at Otjiwarongo.
In 1995, she left the teaching profession to join the National Planning Commission as an economist.
Shafudah not only believes in hard work, but also in continuous learning.
Today she boasts several high-level qualifications, including a master’s degree in biostatistics, and a master’s degree in leadership and change management.
She joined the government at a time there was a shortage of skills to drive the Public Sector Investment Programme, a five-year strategic plan in the formulation of the national budget, which reflects public investment against national priority areas of development.
Namibia relied on expatriates at that time.
Former executive director of health Andrew Ndishishi would often sing her praises.
“We needed a strong mathematician in the national budget formulation so that our error of projection would be minimal, and Ericah was there, she was one of the very few Namibians with such skills.”
Shafudah has been part of the national budget formulation for the past 26 years, which is almost her entire career in the public service.
Her experience is so immense, and many in the public service would agree that working with her was indeed a privilege.
Although a student of finance, she is also a seasoned economist and played a big role in the economic modelling of Namibia while at the National Planning Commission.
She joined the Ministry of Finance in 2002 as the deputy secretary for treasury (now deputy executive director), responsible for the state account department under which the formulation of the national budget falls.
She advanced to become the deputy permanent secretary and later on permanent secretary (executive director). She led the ministry through a period of significant changes and many reforms in public financial management and public service in general.
Shafudah played a strategic supervisory role on a number of policy development and reforms that culminated in the establishment of new state institutions such as NamibRE, Nasria, CPBN and NamRA.
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