Monica Rubombora believes that Accenture in South Africa’s Health & Public Service operating group can do much to help government enhance service delivery and achieve high performance.
“In our work in the public sector we think of the human impact of what we do while also being able to measure the economic effect,” she says.
As a senior executive, Rubombora is driven by a strong desire to help ordinary people. “There is immense gratification in knowing that Accenture’s contribution to the social security ‘engine rooms’ means that a granny no longer has to stand in a pay-out queue all day,” she says.
Accenture’s interventions have helped a number of public sector entities to become more prudent custodians of the country’s assets by giving them what Rubombora calls “a sharper focus on what’s important, and reducing waste.”
For example, in its work with the South Africa Revenue Service, Accenture’s focus has been on increasing revenue collection, which Rubombora says includes “helping government to persuade people to do the right thing by paying taxes.” Another example she gives is Accenture’s involvement in the background IT systems that contributed to the smooth-running national elections of 2009.
Rubombora is a member of Accenture’s worldwide leadership team, and feels responsible for preparing the next generation of employees coming into the organization. While some businesses tend to cut back on training in a downturn, Accenture has maintained its training budgets both in South Africa and globally. Training is not confined to building skills within Accenture—“We also do a lot of voluntary work to help communities get skills,” she says.
Born in Uganda, Rubombora has lived in South Africa for 18 years. She has two honours degrees, as well as a master’s degree. She joined Accenture in 1999, bringing experience in banking, insurance and technology outsourcing. In 2006 she spent an invaluable two-and-a-half years in the health & public service as head of procurement for Gauteng province. She then rejoined Accenture because, she says, “I realized that I could contribute just as much to society from within Accenture.”
Rubombora feels the appointment to a senior executive position places an obligation on her to serve as a role model: “We don’t have too many women, especially black women, in executive positions, so this feels very important to me.”
Rubombora and her husband, a medical practitioner, live in Johannesburg with their 17-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son. “I prioritize my family over everything else,” she says, “and I enjoy the work that I’m doing. But that wouldn’t be possible without my husband’s support—he is my biggest fan!”
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