99FM Royal Hustlers

Be who you are.

Mutonga Matali

Mutonga Matali is currently the manager for corporate communications and marketing at the National Housing Enterprise. He has 13 years’ experience in his field and a master’s degree in communications and media.

Mutonga is a seasoned corporate communications and brand reputation strategist who has learnt that if you want to influence people around you, you need to be consistent in who you are.

From his years at the Namib Times more than a decade ago to serving the National Planning Commission as a census publicity officer, a common thread starts to appear. Mutonga’s humility and passion for serving his country with excellence guides his every decision. This is why, since completing his master’s degree, he has chosen to work within the realms of the government by taking positions at the Namibian Standards Institution (NSI) and the National Housing Enterprise (NHE).

Mutonga’s loyalty and willingness to serve echoes his childhood as the son of a pastor who spent his life serving the flock entrusted to him. His family had to move where the church sent them, so Mutonga moved from Bukalo to Kanono in the Zambezi Region and later to Kongola in the Caprivi Strip. He was able to find stability in the values of his family, even as they lived unsettled lives moving around and serving the church.

“In a Christian home you are taught to be humble,” Mutonga tells the listeners of 99FM. “Humility is a life lesson to constantly come back to.” He shares how important it is for us to be immovable in who we are. “There are things in life that shouldn’t influence the person that you are,” he says. “Your societal success in life shouldn’t influence how you relate to people.”

Mutonga gives a vivid example of what he means: “What is a car?” he asks Mooks. “It is a mode of transport!” But often a car can become a source of confidence or identity. “The moment it becomes more than that (a mode of transport), you are in trouble.” Mutonga is cautioning us to not let material things like cars define who we are.

In his role at the NHE, Mutonga has a lot of influence in his department and even in the organisation as a whole. He is deliberate and intentional with each interaction. “If you want to influence people and if you want to lead people, then don’t say one thing and do something else,” he says. “Walk the talk, straightforward.”

It really is as simple as that.

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