Nehemiah Mchechu’s journey from private sector to public reform

Imagine you have two years in which to turn a losing company into a profiting one, but you have only a tight budget to inject into it! Faced with such a daunting task, whom should you turn to for inspiration in Tanzania? The answer is likely Nehemiah Kyando Mchechu. He is indeed a unique and inspirational leader of our time. He has had a rare breakthrough in the world of business management. His unique business skills have transformed the lives of the majority of people. He is a prodigy in planning. Many chief executive officers (CEOs) prefer either to build a new company starting from scratch or join a very profiting one. Very few will agree to take on a losing company fearing it may even end up destroying their career and CV. However, Mchechu is the opposite of those CEOs. He managed not only to turn losing institutions into profiting ones, but also in the shortest time ever recorded into the financial sector. In less than a year, from the time he took over the leadership of Bank of Africa Tanzania Ltd, he recorded a profit from the years of loss-making. To some, it looked like a miracle, but it was his skills of planning and leadership that made it possible.

QUESTION (Q): Could you please take us through your early childhood, Mr Mchechu?

ANSWER (A): My background was not all roses. I was raised by my grandparents from the age of three. That was in Mbeya. I stayed with my aunt and uncle. Let me say a true African extended family. But life was really difficult. Having to go to a farm on weekends and some evenings after school meant there was no playing around with peers. But that helped me as well. It made me live independently and I grew up thinking and acting like an adult.

Q: Could you briefly share with us your journey from the time you left school to when you joined civil service?

A: What I can tell you is that, I didn’t join university soon after high school. My grandmother struggled very much to pay my fees. So, I was of the notion that she could not possibly afford footing my university costs. In this case, opted to set up a small business, dealing in stationery. Later on, I started a bar and bought a mini-bus for public transport. That was how I raised university tuition fees. I joined the university just to obtain a paper and fit in my social group. I did not have it in mind that I would seek employment. As I said, I had businesses to manage. But we usually plan not knowing what God has set for us. I studied Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) at the University of Dar es salaam and later joined City Bank Group after my internship with the bank. I worked with Standard Charted Bank, Africa Bank (now Commercial Bank of Africa) and National Housing Corporation (NHC).

Q: The biggest question is and will always be, how did you manage to turn loss-making companies around in a very short a time as was with Commercial Bank of Africa?

A: Well, that is a difficult question because there is no definite answer to it. Let me say that the most important skill one needs is sacrifice. Not doing something because you are going to be paid a certain amount of money. For example, when I joined Commercial Bank of Africa, I didn’t do it for money. I took a 30-per cent salary cut to join the bank. It was the same case when I joined NHC, I took a 35-per cent salary cut to join it. So, I did not go there for money. The second thing is having the same vision as shareholders.

This gives you support and the third thing is creating the right working environment for yourself and your colleagues. I should also say that another thing is to trust the staff you have and help them to be efficient. When I joined Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) as Manager I became the first Tanzanian to head a foreign bank. I trained a lot of Tanzanians and made them believe that they could do it. The problem is that many of us don’t believe in ourselves.

Q: Tanzanians see you as one of the most successful managers in the country. Please, tell readers some of the pertinent managerial skills one needs to manage a corporation of NHC’s calibre.

A: I can’t say it is something easy to do because you need selfless effort. You must have the right attitude and make a lot of sacrifice. You have to make the right network of people who matter. You must be able to sell yourself (what you do). You can’t sell something bad, so you have always to do the right things. I like calling it the “Nehemiah philosophy”. Have the right attitude towards what you do and deliver, make the right network of people and sell yourself through what you are and do.

Q: In light of the founding principles of NHC, what is the company’s contribution to the socioeconomic status of common Tanzanians?

A: NHC is the largest real estate developer in Tanzania and East Africa. It is worth $1.6 billion which is the GDP of most small countries. So, we have a lot to offer to Tanzanians. We have branches all over the country and work on projects in 14 regions. We project to construct about 3,000 low cost houses each year beginning this year up from 40 units that I found the company constructing. The lowest cost per unit will be Sh30 million, but this depends on the region and area.

We provide about 25,000 direct employment opportunities and above 35,000 indirect jobs across the country. So, we have played our part towards improving the socioeconomic status of Tanzanians and living by the founding principles.

Q: What do you take to be the turning point in your life?

A: When I was appointed a management member in Standard Charted Bank, I was only 29 years old and my boss left me in charge for two weeks. It’s at that point that I developed the ego of “yes I can”. Then, I had an opportunity to join CBA which despite an opening to go to Europe, I took a pay cut to remain in Tanzania and became the manager of a company that was making losses. Later on, I joined NHC, another corporation that was struggling to pay its employees.

Q: How do you spend your spare time, Mr Mchechu?

A: As you can see, I hardly have free time. It is a public holiday today and I am at work. I am grateful to my wife because I am always busy, but she understands. I try to spend the little free time I have with her. I read autobiography magazines as a hobby. We learn great things from great people and I love driving too.

Q: Do you have any regrets in life?

A: As an individual, not any. About society, yes. There is one thing I regret: the fact that our leaders are not telling the youth the truth. The educated youth must be told that there is a price to be paid for one to be successful. Most young people in this country live in very unrealistic situations; a lot of day dreaming. They think that when they finish tertiary education the government will give them a good job.

But there are many things the youth can do without depending on the government. They should also be told that we are ambassadors of our country, age group, region and many more. What we do must be to the best interest of the people we represent. If I do something wrong, people will start blaming the youth, and not me alone.