Contribution of informal businesses in Walvis Bay is valued- Forbes

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 Maritime Festival

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.

Landless residents at Walvis Bay express frustration

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.

Farm 37 residents will become land owners- Forbes

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.

Parents urged to be alert

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 battling to maintain its roads due to high volume of traffic

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.  

Erongo Region struggling to respond to medical emergencies due to a shortage of ambulances

The Erongo Region is struggling to respond to medical emergencies due to a shortage of ambulances at state hospitals.

Walvis Bay Mayor, Trevino Forbes, has expressed concern over the shortage of ambulances in the region, especially in the harbor town. 

"I have come to learn that the ambulance we are using here is borrowed from Omaruru, and it's also not working. It can't be that we are running our town like this. Namibia's industrial hub, a dilapidated hospital, no ambulances, and I can't stand by and watch as these public services deteriorate."

Senior citizens at Walvis Bay receive a meal and shopping voucher for Christmas

About 1,000 senior citizens at Walvis Bay each received a meal and a shopping voucher valued at N$300 as their Christmas gift.

The event was hosted by the Mayor of Walvis Bay, Trevino Forbes.

For some time, it was a joyous Christmas as they reconnected with old friends they hadn't seen in a long time.

Forbes stated that the elderly's wisdom and advice benefit communities and that the event was a token of appreciation.

IPC reaffirms to fight corruption come 2024

The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) believes it has what it takes to end corruption, come 2024.

Trevino Forbes, the party's vice president for the Erongo Region, stated this during a recruitment drive in Narraville, Walvis Bay.

"We are the party that puts principles above privilege. We are not faced with positions; we are faced with making a change. All of us standing here joined IPC because we saw the need for change. If everything had gone well, we would not have joined political parties, and we would have been happy."