I reached my current role because I have always had a policy of continuous personal learning and development. This means I have chosen to work in various settings and offices so I can learn more about the world. Therefore, when an opportunity presented itself to experience working in the public sector, I jumped at it. My main objective in life is to provide inspirational, principled and high-level energetic leadership that delivers value for organisational and national success.
I would describe myself as a results-oriented finance professional specialising in governance, risk management, internal audit, control and strategy, with over 16 years of experience. I spent my early career mastering audit at Deloitte in Zambia and have fond memories of my time there as I learnt how clients operate and how to make sense of financial performance.
Since then, I have held several senior management positions with parastatals in Zambia. These include Zambia Airports Corporation, where I currently serve, and prior to that the Zambia Development Agency and the National Pension Scheme Authority. I have also served on the audit committees for the Ministry of Finance Higher Education Loans Board and Zambia Railways, and on the boards of the Institute of Risk Management Zambia and the Zambia Institute for Strategic Management. It has been an exciting journey.
I enjoy conducting environmental analysis, and planning business continuity and contingency strategies
Zambia Airports Corporation currently has considerable over-capacity across its four international airports and 10 domestic airports. The corporation has the capacity to handle about nine million annual passengers (MAPs). As at end 2023, it was estimated that about two MAPS had been facilitated, which leaves us with a healthy amount of headroom. However, global air travel is increasing, so over the next 20 years the government, which is the 100% shareholder of the airports, has ambitious development plans to increase capacity even further by rehabilitating and developing new airports to meet expected demand.
These are two of my favourite sayings: ‘We are what we think about’ and ‘What we feel, say and do should always be a match’. In other words, walk the talk.
If I had law-making powers, I would ensure the equal distribution of wealth. Currently, Africa has minerals and arable land that the wider world benefits from and yet the continent remains disadvantaged, with so many children still lacking access to clean water, food and nutrition, and education.
What I enjoy most about my job is conducting environmental analysis, and planning business continuity and contingency strategies. These fields have no standard approach, so I must use my imagination to the fullest.
I am particularly proud to have led a US$400m airport operationalisation project
I have had various achievements in my career. I am particularly proud of leading the project team to make Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport operational, a US$400m project. In the Copperbelt province, this was a greenfield airport development project, which meant that it was unfamiliar territory to the entire project team. The complexity of the exercise was increased by the need to ensure a smooth transfer of operations from the old airport to the new, without disruptions to customer service.
If I wasn’t a finance professional I would like to have been a medical doctor. I love to work with people and would enjoy helping my patients to have a positive outlook on life.
When I am not at work, I enjoy playing golf and snooker, and raising pigs. I also like consulting in the areas of governance, risk, audit and strategy.
