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Tate Johannes calls it a day

Johannes Fekayamala, known as Tate Johannes, retired earlier in May and has been with Standard Bank for the past 29 years. He spent 15 years at the Windhoek branch, before moving to the bank’s Rundu branch, where he’s been for 14 years.

He recently retired and plans to retreat to his village and use his pension funds to buy some cattle and venture into tomato and coffee farming.

“I would have liked to have worked for one extra year, but I have to retire when I turn 60. I think the time is right to move on. The land is good and I’m ready to move to the next chapter of my life - farming. God has kept me over the years.

“I have not experienced any major problems. I worked for good people and I have had children who are making something of their lives. I’m very happy,” he said.

Tate Johannes has observed the bank’s growth for three decades and the biggest change has been the system.

“The customers are more now than when I started. Sometimes it means the bank gets very full and busy.”

By the time the bank gets busy with its clients, Tate Johannes would be into his daily routine - a stop at Nampost to pick up the letters, queuing up at Nored to pay the branch’s power bills and other errands required by the manager, such as dropping an envelope at the municipality.

In many mays, his colleagues value and appreciate Tate Johannes, as they affectionately call him.

He only speaks Afrikaans and says this has never been a problem.

He never bothered to learn English in the old days, because while working for Standard Bank in Windhoek, he resided in Wambolokasie before the move to Rundu in 2003.

The key to his happiness at work over all the years is enjoying time with his colleagues.

“It’s something I want to do all the time. I always like to be at work meeting people. That’s the main thing in life, meeting people.”

Head of service support and second in charge at the Standard Bank Rundu branch, Francois van Wyk, who has worked with Tate Johannes for seven years, says: “Fekayamala is quite humble. Even when he has to take instructions from someone who is younger, he doesn’t take it begrudgingly. He’s like a father to everyone here in the bank.”

Throughout his years of experience at the Blue Bank, Tate Johannes has been well-respected by both colleagues and customers alike.

Born and raised in Konke, Tate Johannes grew up in rural Rundu, in a family of seven who all sought greener pastures. His first job was in 1970 at Olympia Super Market in the fish and chips division.

Tate Johannes has seven children, and following in her father’s footsteps, Justine works in Standard Bank’s IT department in Windhoek.

Two of his children Jeremiah (information systems) and Augustu (electrical engineering) are final-year students at Unam and Nust, respectively.

“I want to thank Standard Bank because they also helped me with my children’s education. And not only that, when I was working in Windhoek, I got to shake the hands of President Hage Geingob and former President Hifikepunye Pohamba, when they came to visit the bank, I would have never gotten that opportunity in my life if I didn’t have this job,” Tate Johannes added.