Uaandja is Metropolitan board chairperson

FINANCIAL expert and business leader Nangula Uaandja has been appointed chairperson of the Momentum Metropolitan Namibia (MMN) board.

Her appointment, which was announced by MMN chief executive officer Sakaria Nghikembua, is effective from 30 November 2021.

Uaandja takes over from Nghikembua, who was chairperson of the diversified financial services company until his appointment as the MMN group chief executive officer on 1 August this year.

“A seasoned business leader and chartered accountant, Uaandja is the chairperson and chief executive of the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board,” said Nghikembua.

“Prior to that she served in various roles in PricewaterhouseCoopers for more than two decades, including 10 years as managing director of PwC (Namibia), six years on the PwC southern Africa governing board and four as a member of the PwC Southern Africa leadership team, representing Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Eswatini and Zimbabwe,” he added.

Uaandja holds a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Namibia and an honours bachelor of accounting science and master’s in business leadership, both from the University of South Africa.

Chief executive of MM Africa Kudakwashe Mudzengi said: “Uaandja brings a wealth of business experience and I am looking forward to her contribution and leadership as our chairperson.”

Commenting on her appointment, Uaandja said: “Namibia is at an interesting point in its history, where she needs all hands on deck to bring about the much-needed economic development for the benefit of our people.

“The role of the private sector, especially financial services in this regard cannot be over-emphasised,” she added.

“It is therefore an honour to be part of the solution by joining a dynamic team of fellow innovators whose core values of accountability, diversity, integrity, teamwork, excellence and innovation overlap to a large extent with my personal ones.

“I look forward to making a difference while learning and developing at the same time,” she said.

Uaandja asserted that this new appointment at MMN would not blur the lines between allocating investment space and being the chair of a private investment company, because the board does not allocate investments but helps investors to package their investments.

“We facilitate services for the investors, whether it’s visas, permits or licences, and help promote private sector participation in joint ventures with the government like the hydrogen project,” she said.

Thus, she said her appointment will not cause a conflict of interest, because they do not formulate policy but rather give input and help the government to come up with policies that will make Namibia attractive to investors.

Uaandja said her appointment should be of mutual benefit to her and the insurance company.

“I want to learn as a person and leader and work with an organisation with a reach beyond Namibia, to learn new ways of thinking.

“I have audited insurance companies and it is this experience that I will bring to Metropolitan. As this is a South African company, I also want to see what is in it for Namibia because to me Namibia comes first,” she said.

Uaandja maintained that having mastered the art of delegation over the years, her many roles will not overwhelm her.

– matthew@namibian.com.na

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