Excellence is her signature

Source : Kutlwano

Author : Idah Basimane

Location : Gaborone

Event : Profile

People define success differently but for Botswana`s new Ombudsman, Festinah Bakwena, “success is when what I do touches someone`s life leading to that person becoming successful,” she tells Kutlwano in an interview.

Undoubtedly anyone will embrace Bakwena`s midus touch if they aspire to be successful like her; her achievements include good education, an illustrious career, a decent house, independent children, and a horde of other good things.

A former director of the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM), Bakwena was almost retiring from the civil service last year when, without warning, President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama appointed her Ombudsman, one of the top positions in Botswana`s civil service. 

Although she found herself having to think twice, calmly she told  herself that if the president had faith in her, why not give it a try, and that is how she became the third Ombudsman since the watchdog department was established in 1999.

 “This appointment humbled me immensely because it showed that I could still be trusted,” she says, adding that the gesture has reaffirmed government`s commitment to the empowerment and equality of women, particularly at the work place. 

Bakwena is not new to being at the helm of things; in the thick of things; as stated earlier, she previously headed DPSM, and that was before her stints as permanent secretary in the ministries of Communication, Science, and technology and Education respectively. She also held a senior position at the Department of Curriculum. 

Needless to say, the presence of women in the upper echelons of career pursuits is not a surprise any more. Perhaps that is why her choice has flattered none other than the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Pono Moatlhodi, who comments: “Bakwena has had a shining track record in the public service. I have a deep respect for her; she is a doer, and has performed exceptionally well during her career,” lauds the Tonota South legislator.

Equally flattered was Felicia Mokoni, now group head at Botswana Insurance Holdings Limited. Having worked with Bakwena at the ministry of Communication, Science and Technology, Mokoni admits that she is one individual who has learnt a lot from Bakwena. 

“She taught me how to balance competing objectives if I was to go forward in whatever endeavour,” says Mokoni, who describes her former colleague as a woman who has institutional memory of Permanent Secretary Cadre.

She says in the 1970s, when more men used to graduate from universities than women, oddly, Bakwena was among the few women who graduated side by side with their male counterparts.

Challenging and unique though the position of Ombudsman is, Bakwena is convinced that she too can do the job just like her predecessors, who, unlike her, had a legal background.

With offices only in Gaborone and Francistown it is not enough, and her dream is for her organisation to reach out to other areas around the country, including remote ones. “We are also thin on the ground, hence we need more staff so as to effectively deal with the large number of requests we always receive from members of the public,” she says, adding that on average her office handles about 1000 cases. 

With apparent humility enough to instil optimism in anyone, Bakwena says amongst her most cherished values, she is approachable and will offer unconditional assistance to anyone irrespective of who or what they are. 

Bakwena was born in Letlhakeng village in the Kweneng district, to her late father, Raseila and her still alive mother, Mosarwa. Both parents were teachers by profession. 

Like any Motswana child who grew up during those years, Bakwena stayed most of her youthful years at Mathibatsela lands working on the family farms, particularly during school holidays.

She started her primary school at Sebele1, where she did Sub A and B, before starting proper primary education from Standard One to Two. She then proceeded to Kgari Sechele School for her Standard five to Form Three. Later She finished her senior secondary schooling at St Joseph`s College in 1966.

Bakwena was lucky to be admitted at the then University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland in Maseru, Lesotho from 1969-1973, where she obtained Bachelor of Arts in Concurrent Certificate in Education (CCE). 

She also holds a Master of Arts Degree in Education, Research, and Methodology from Pennsylvania University in the United States of America.

While at the DPSM she was in the thick of things during the infamous teachers` strike of 2011 in which employees demanded a salary increase to offset the ever rising inflation. She says it is regrettable that the negotiations between government and unions only ended up in deadlock, leading to the strike.

However, she says the positive thing with regard to the strike is that the public service has grown in terms of their rights and awareness. “It was unfortunate that the strike did not end amicably as it was supposed to,” she regrets.

Government equally felt the pain as the strike also affected ordinary Batswana due to stalled service delivery. For instance, the continued absence of teachers in classrooms meant that students were not taught,” she says.

Life is an experience, described as the accumulation of knowledge that results in direct participation of one in any event. When one is in the public service one gets to make key decisions and learn quickly because whatever one does affects the lives of other people, she opines.

She recalls a challenge which she calls 100 loaves of bread. When she was at the Department of Curriculum, she was responsible for running workshops for teachers in particular. One of such workshops took place in Selibi-Phikwe where she forgot to terminate the bread supply order at the end of the workshop. 

As a result, the supplier kept on delivering bread after bread and, on her arrival in Gaborone, she got a surprise call from her permanent secretary asking her what should be done with the 100 loaves which were at Selibi-Phikwe Senior Secondary School. 

“It was a learning curve and a challenge because I was never to make such a mistake again; it was my responsibility to have seen that the order was terminated,” she says.

 She cautions those who look at her as their role model to always ask themselves whether the job they do matches their personality, competencies, and whether it is what one wants to do.

Besides being a career woman who is economically independent, and therefore ever so busy, she still creates time to interact with her family. She likes doing domestic chores. She describes herself as a contemporary woman who likes to promote Setswana and urban life. 

“I have herded goats before. I like to be showered with praise poems and when this is done I will work even harder,” she says. Bakwena is the type of person who one will wish to spend time with forever. She says she has always strived to be better than she is. ENDS

Teaser:

She cautions those who look at her as their role model to always ask themselves whether the job they do matches their personality, competencies, and whether it is what one wants to do.