By:Uakutura Kambaekua

Opuwo Town Council designated Matjandjara Tjihuura Katurota as the town’s first female CEO for a five-year term.

Tjihuura Katurota is the first woman to occupy the position.

Tjihuura Katurota replaced Petrus Shuuya, whose contract was not renewed after more than 5 years on the council. Karui Rikambura has been serving as temporary CEO for the previous few months.

The council hosted a special welcoming ceremony for the new executive leader on Tuesday at the council chambers, attended by traditional leaders, regional councillors, and community members.

During the ceremony, Opuwo mayor Rosa Mbinge Tjeundo praised her fellow councillors for expediting the recruitment of a new Chief Executive Officer, noting that, unlike in other councils where the process is being delayed due to indifference among political leaders, the process in Opuwo only took three months to complete.

“Let me herald the efforts of this council in the recruitment of a substantive Chief Executive Officer, as that was our collective primary focus,” she stated.

According to Mbinge-Tjeundo, the council was on the hunt for a candidate who is well qualified and experienced, understands the perspective of the people of Opuwo, and would embrace the innovative and progressive ethos required to execute and operationalise the council’s strategic objectives.

Mbinge-Tjeundo also urged the newly appointed CEO to maintain objectivity while ensuring that the council books receive the attention they require in order to receive a good audit opinion from the auditor general office.

“Work tirelessly to improve our auditor general’s audit opinion.” “It’s critical,” she said.
Furthermore, the mayor reaffirmed the council’s resolve to transform Opuwo to higher prosperity, emphasising the strategic objectives that the newly chosen CEO should carry out.

Among these, the CEO must strengthen the water management system that has plagued the town for years, including the supply of adequate service.

Mbing-Tjeundo also invited other councillors and community people to lend their support to the new CEO and her subordinates in order to achieve the town’s strategic goals.

The newly appointed CEO expressed her thanks and excitement about her new post, highlighting some of her expectations, including safety, customer service, integrity, and time management.

Katurota also stressed that time management is critical when under monitoring since there will be no tolerance for slowpokes. She also mentioned that she has an open-door policy in which community members are encouraged to come out about concerns affecting the well-being of the town.

Tjihuura-Katurota has worked in financial and asset management at a variety of local authorities. She kicked off her career as a member of the Ruacana Town Council.

Tjihuura-Katurota formerly worked at Okahandja Municipality before transferring to Karibib Municipality, where she was in charge of finance and administration. Before joining Opuwo Town, she was the finance manager for Omaruru Municipality.

Tjihuura-Katurota holds a Master’s Degree in International Business from the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in accounting from the University of Namibia (UNAM).