Carina Haasbroek
Carina
Haasbroek has been the longest-serving member of the SABONET Regional Office
staff and the notice of her resignation was a blow for us. The rest of the
Secretariat being administrators and botanists, we were terrified at the thought
that we might have to run the project’s expenditure and budget for a couple
of months. Carina, together with Gort Hughes, NBI’s (now
SANBI)
Director of Finance,
had developed a unique system to serve the specific needs of the SABONET Project.
The system links into the NBI budget in such a way that we are part of the
NBI, but also independent. This system, when considering financial bookkeeping,
implies that SABONET does not exist! If you understand this philosophy, you
are welcome to apply for the job!
Carina
started as the SABONET Financial Officer at the National Herbarium, Pretoria,
on 1 August 1997. Carina was committed to SABONET’s objectives, and very enthusiastic
about her work. Over the past five years she impressed with her particularly
effective working capacity, and her ability to manage the bookkeeping and
financial management of a ten-country, USD 4.7m (R40m), donor-funded
project. Not only has the SABONET Project recognised the quality of her work
and management, but the external auditors of the project, KPMG, have never
written an unfavourable report on the work she has done.
As
Financial Officer, Carina attended various SABONET Steering Committee meetings
where she presented the financial reports of the project in a format even
botanists could understand! She was also part of three Logframe Meetings with
UNDP, where she played an active role in the revision of the Project logframe
and the allocation of the budget. In addition, Carina also managed the funds
of SABONET’s Plant Red Data List project and attended financial management
courses of the NETCAB Programme in Harare, Zimbabwe. Her experience with finances
also enabled her to present a module on Costing and Budgeting during SABONET
Management Courses.
As
a person, Carina has always been friendly and willing to assist with any problems.
She has contributed substantially to the team spirit of the Secretariat and
will leave her mark on the project. Thanks for your enthusiasm and hard work,
Carina!
Carina
moved to Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, in June 2002
