Council Meeting Update - 28 July 2026 | Walvis Bay

7 hours ago
4 min read

Disclaimer: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of our analysis, all information contained in this article is provided without warranty and it remains every person's responsibility to fact-check details. This is especially the case if the OCM Minutes have not yet been published.

This Ordinary Council Meeting covered seven interviews with deputations or people requested to attend meetings, another statement by the mayor and the usual array of land matters, admin items and travel requests. Oddly enough, our submitted questions were taken under the Management Committee report instead of a stand-alone agenda item.

Below is a short breakdown of what this means for Walvis Bay residents.

Walvis Bay Council Video Update

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Key Decisions at a Glance

Moving Ahead:	Noise regulations
Delayed:	--
Needs Follow-Up:	JWBRA questions RedForce enquiry

What This Means for Residents

Trust our regular Walvis Bay Council Update to keep you in the loop!

Travel & Events

The mayor and chairperson of the Management Committee (MC) are going to the Global Afrodiasporic Summit and Africa-Cali Exchange for Public Policy Innovation from 10-17 August 2026. Costs for this trip are covered by the already-budgeted Council S&T Foreign vote.

Ms Anna Ekandjo, coordinator of the American Corner at the Walvis Bay library, will be attending the American Spaces, American Experience Exchange in Washington, D.C. during September. Walvis Bay is one of only two local authorities in Namibia that funds its own libraries, and the American Corner has been going since 2004. According to the agenda, there is very little cost for this trip.

As reported in the past, many Local Authorities invite each other for their Trade Fairs and Gala Dinners. This time around, it's Khorixas' turn (in October 2026) and the MC recommended purchasing a table for 10 people from the donations vote as well as sending three Councillors up.

Land Matters

A satellite map of Walvis Bay showing property developments.

Seawork Fish Processors applied to purchase unserviced erven to build houses for their employees, while Cuvelai Capital Fund was invited for an informal meeting to present their housing project proposal.

A developer in Kuisebmond wants to purchase the erven he built showhouses on, which was recommended for approval. An erf in Long Beach is meant to be subdivided and rezoned, while Erf 2498 in Ext. 7 was applied to be subdivided. Then, Baard properties has applied for a consolidation of erven, as have Carapau Fishing.

Then there were four applications for simple rezoning:

Erf 3123 Walvis Bay - Radio Electronic
Erf 3148 Walvis Bay - Grobbies Estates
Erf 3155 Walvis Bay - Goldsack
Erf 3126 Walvis Bay Proper - Oosthuizen & Niekerk

All of these applications were recommended for approval. Lastly, Erongo RED's substation on Farm 38 is being moved because of the dual carriageway road-upgrade to the MR36.

Admin Items

First Motion Under the New Council

Our Councillor Sharon Roodt submitted a motion for Walvis Bay to adopt Noise & Nuisance Regulations. This was adopted without objections and referred to the administration for a comprehensive report and finalisation. Regulations are a city's laws, and without these police officers can't really do anything against crimes and offenders, as weird as that sounds.

ALAN Representation

Our esteemed mayor, His Worship Johannes Shimbilinga, has been appointed to represent the Association of Local Authorities in Namibia (ALAN) on various governance structures and external boards. This is quite prestigous, but the Walvis Bay Muncipality will have to cover associated costs where host institutions do not.

Walvis Bay EPZ Update

After some consultations and discussions, the MC has once again recommended that Walvis Bay requests the "withdrawal of Government Notice No 183 of 15 September 1997", which dealt with the Walvis Bay Export Processing Zone (EPZ). This zone never materialised, none of the port properties are used for EPZ purposes and the regime is coming to an end. Such a withdrawal has to be done by the Ministry of Industires, Mines and Energy.

Budget & Finances

There were a few budget reallocations. First, money budgeted for training of traffic officers on new equipment will be transferred to patrol vehicles as well as LED torches and traffice enforcement bags. This is because the procurement of the new equipment already covers the training on it.

Then, money was recommended to be reshuffled to ensure the completion of procurement processes carried over from the previous year. These are a bakkie replacement, construction of a boundary wall in Kuisebmond, and replacing two tractors. It was noted that postponing the execution of these advertised bids could result in administrative duplication.

Councillor Shozi as Chairperson of the MC requested information on the RedForce contract. Apparently, this needs a briefing on background information and supporting documentation and so was referred to the next informal discussion meeting of Council.

Lastly, there is an empty erf in Meersig for which the waiving of penalties, interest and other charges was requested. This is a renewal of the same application done in November 2025 and again the MC recommended to deny it. Instead, the calculations should be revised and submitted before the next Council Meeting.

Resort Operations

The MC recommended the adoption of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for revenue collection and resort operations at municipal resorts. We wholly support this formalisation of operations and the shift system that will result in extended operating hours.

Our Councillor's View

Questions Submitted

We submitted multiple questions to Council since April this year. While the Municipality is slow in answering, we are getting answers. So far, the following:

Date submitted (2026)	Topics	Date answered
23 April for OCM 28 April	Roads & Audit Report	12 May 2026
18 May for OCM 16 June	Landfill, Cleaning, Budget, HR/Staffing	Deferred to MC on 16 June
6 July for OCM 28 July	Complaints, Water, Budget, Roads RedForce	--

A flowchart showing the process for councillors submitting questions in the public interest.

What we don't understand, and will include in our next set of questions, is why the Chairperson of Council refers the questions to the MC. The Management Committee is not mentioned in Rule 20 of the Standing Rules of Order and we can't help but wonder if doing it properly wouldn't be faster.