The two coastal towns of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund plan to attract more investors to ensure that they develop in a way that will grow employment opportunities. 

Walvis Bay mayor Trevino Forbes says the town's municipality plans on expanding its boundary to create a conducive environment for foreign investors to put money into infrastructural development.

Forbes says job creation is not the mandate of the council; however, what they can do is make sure value addition takes place in the port city of Walvis Bay to secure more jobs.

Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister Derek Klazen says the fishrot scandal did not cause the loss of jobs for over 1,000 fishermen, who were part of a strike in 2015.

At his annual industry address at Walvis Bay, Klazen noted that there is a distinction between the Fishrot scandal and the job losses.

The Fishrot scandal implicated several individuals, including politicians and businesspeople, a situation the Walvis Bay Mayor, Trevino Forbes, said impacted people's lives negatively.

The Walvis Bay Mayoral Fund has collected close to N$1 million during a  fundraising dinner to establish a youth center in Narraville, Walvis Bay.

Walvis Bay Mayor Trevino Forbes says the contribution of informal businesses to the economy of the town is valued.

Forbes says it is for this reason that the municipality, together with the Erongo Regional Council, has identified a piece of land and will soon construct an open market to support informal traders.

The mayor says the population of Walvis Bay has grown exponentially as people from all corners of the country flock to the harbour town each year in search of employment opportunities.

Walvis Bay Mayor Trevino Forbes has emphasised the urgent need to take action to safeguard the wellbeing of the oceans for the benefit of forthcoming generations.

Forbes says the ocean plays a vital role in supporting life, ensuring food security, generating employment, and presenting limitless prospects for economic expansion and advancement.

Speaking at the opening of the Walvis Bay Maritime Festival, Forbes stressed that the blue economy encompasses an extensive array of sectors, spanning marine transportation, fisheries, renewable energy, tourism, and beyond.

Responding to the taxi drivers who have petitioned the municipality over poor roads, Walvis Bay mayor Trevino Forbes says the council has already started repairing some of the main roads. 

Another group of landless residents at Walvis Bay have expressed frustration to the council over the slow pace of delivering serviced plots to them.

The group called "Tulipamwe" marched to the municipality and handed over a petition demanding council to give residents plots at Farm 37, an area about 10 kilometers from the town. 

Members of the Tulipamwe group say they are low-income earners who rent backyard shacks in the harbor town.

Although there are only communal services at Farm 37, on the outskirts of Walvis Bay, residents there have been urged to focus on the fact that they will soon become landowners.

Walvis Bay Mayor Trevino Forbes says there is enough land in the new township for all residents.

Farm 37 is less than 10 kilometers east of Walvis Bay. It was identified in 2016 as the solution to the shortage of housing land in the harbor town.

Since then, thousands of landless residents have been waiting for the council to develop the area.

A community educator at Walvis Bay, Hubert Mukosho, has urged parents to be more alert in picking up signs of substance abuse in their children.

Mukosho says when children are using illegal substances, they are most likely to switch their moods and personalities.

Sent to prison in 2009, Hubert Mukosho has become a community educator who graduated with an Honors Degree in Life-long Learning and Community Education. 

Walvis Bay is battling to maintain its roads and the high volume of international traffic, including trucks, transporting goods increases on the harbor town's roads.

This was highlighted by the town's Mayor, Trevino Forbes, during Council's first ordinary meeting.

 Forbes says the high volumes of international traffic, including heavy trucks, transporting goods have contributed to the roads being damaged. 

However, he says the burden of road maintenance and repair falls on the shoulders of the town's ratepayers.