…vows to align department with company strategic goals 
 

By Jeremiah Ndjoze

Former Namibia Post and Telecom Holding’s Managing Director, Kristofine Itembu-Naunyango is up to any challenge presented by her new position at Telecom Namibia and has described her new role as one in which she is tasked to ensure that the company’s legal and regulatory frameworks and strategic goals remain in tandem. 

“Ours is to ensure that the department’s activities are true to the company’s objectives and headed in the right direction, in terms of the company’s strategic plan and mandate,” Itembu-Naunyango said in a conversation with Confidente this week.
She was recently appointed as Telecom Namibia’s Head: Legal Services and Regulatory Affairs and brings a wealth of experience in Corporate Governance, Legal Services and Regulatory Affairs.

She reiterated that she will lead the department with a commitment to guide its legal strategy, compliance and supporting the business objectives with sound governance and principled leadership. 

Her job, amongst others, will be to provide legal counsel and oversight across all corporate operations of Telecom Namibia, including contract management, litigation matters, and strategic transactions - such as interconnection agreements and vendor contracts, amongst others. 

Prior to joining Telecom Namibia, Itembu-Naunyango served as the leader of the NPTH. The company has since been dismantled. Itembu-Nauyango joined NPTH in 2018 as a company secretary, before being shifted into the Acting CEO position. She assumed the role of substantive CEO with effect from 01 October 2023, and remained at the helm of the entity which was the holding company for MTC, Telecom and NamPost. Before the dismantling, the NPTH owned 123 properties countrywide, making it one of the largest businesses in the property sector, with a total asset base of N$4.6 billion and total group assets with a net book value of some N$14.7 billion. The SOE is said to have declared dividends in excess of N$7 Billion to the government, under her leadership. Her other previous corporate stops include tenures at MVA, NAMCOL, Namibia Fish Consumption Promotion Trust (NFCPT), National Youth Service (NYS).

WOMEN LEADERSHIP
One attribute that will not go unmentioned is the fact that, at NPTH, Itembu-Nauyango managed to propel women to the forefront of leadership, resulting in a 99% women executive at the defunct entity, speaking to her zeal for women empowerment.    
“I was born and raised by a single mother in the dusty streets of Soweto, Katutura,” Itembu-Naunyango revealed.
She further credited President Nandi-Ndaitwah as having blazed the trail for her burning desire to succeed in leadership, as a result of her ‘speckless’ leadership record and her ‘unparalleled humanity, especially as a mother figure, is unparalleled.’ 
“I am now a mother, a legal professional with over 15 years’ experience and a wife. Thanks to the fact that earlier on in life I chose the right role models to emulate,” she added. She successfully balances these roles not taking work home. 
“Whatever needs to be attended to in this office, I deal with here. When I go home I switch off and get into mom-mode,” she revealed.