A word from the Mayor of Walvis Bay

AS usual, I am grateful for the opportunity to present you with my closing statement of the year and to convey a message of goodwill to our fellow residents.

After the recent Presidential and National Assembly elections, His Excellency, President Hage Geingob called on the nation to continue holding hands and pulling in the same direction. The people of Walvis Bay, as if they were anticipating these very words of the President, congregated at the Civic Centre on Sunday afternoon and displayed a wonderful sense of harmony and kinship as they celebrated the Mayor’s Day of Unity.

Many people I spoke to at the occasion and afterwards concurred that it was one remarkable day, which they will treasure for as long as they can.

We may differ as far as political outlook and other issues are concerned, but when it comes to unity when it matters most, Walvis Bay’s residents have always been able to come together as one big family.

A major upshot of these just-ended elections is that there’s certainly a profounder need for unity and collaboration to deal with our many challenges. In Walvis Bay, I believe, we are suitably placed to embrace unity and friendship.

We congratulate all the parties which participated peacefully in the elections, as well as those who will be representing the nation in the next National Assembly. We also applaud His Excellency Dr. Geingob, on his second term of office as leader of Namibia.

At local authority level, we will continue to lead the affairs of our city as best we can, and to represent our victorious ruling party in the finest manner. Although we may not have a long time to conclude our own term of office, we are confident that we can still achieve a lot during the remainder of our tenure.

Our enthusiasm to do well has never been more intense, and we believe our customers will continue to receive the best possible service under our watch. In that respect, I also include our partners from the opposition parties who are part of this council.

As I have stated earlier and indeed on many occasions, we see ourselves as one big family. Apart from individual differences and the occasional dispute, the family members will always embrace key principles such as trust, love and harmony, for the greater good of all. This is exactly what we strive to do for everyone who is part of the extended family of Walvis Bay.

Although councillors will have a shortened calendar next year, the administrative arm of the organisation will continue with its business as usual. Operational and capital projects will continue to be executed, monitored and reviewed. The consultation process with all our stakeholders will be persevered with, and even strengthened where necessary.

Starting in the new year, we will announce some of the major projects that will help propel our economy. This will include stimulating our SME market through initiatives such as SME Aisle, which is an adaptable and scalable product and services concept for the coastal areas of SADC.

The concept is supported by Finland, Sweden, Latvia, and Estonia and focuses on Infrastructure, Ship Building, Retrofitting, Certified Training and Expert Services such as safety, surveillance, environment and custom clearance procedures. The idea is to establish linkages between our business sector and businesses from the Baltic and Nordic countries.

We will always work in tandem with willing partners, to pave the way for investment in general to flourish, and for our residents to benefit as a result.

As we put our trust in God to grant us a peaceful and safe holiday, we hope to come back stronger and more prepared in 2020 to perform even better. We are welcoming all our visitors who will be spending their holiday at the coast this festive season and trust that they will enjoy our hospitality.

Let us therefore ensure that they will only have the best of memories when they return home. And lest I forget, let us all make sure that they visit a spotless Walvis Bay. May all our residents and guests enjoy a safe and happy Festive Season! We look forward to being of service again in 2020.

* Statement delivered by Cllr Immanuel Wilfried at the council meeting of 3 November 2020.