Press Release
Addressed to:
● The CEO of the Municipality of Walvis Bay
● The Chairperson of the Council of Walvis Bay
● The general public
JWBRA’s Stance on the RedForce Contract, Resident Rights and Municipal Governance
After Council received a directive from the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development on 17 September 2026, an urgent Special Council Meeting (SCM) was called to address the contents of the letter, which included the validity of the RedForce Contract, incorrect debt collection and accusations of corruption.
The Minister directed that Councillors be held liable for expenditures incurred in the WENA Investment case (Case HC-MD-CIV-MOT-GEN-2026/00366) and that Council act in terms (sic) and as per the legal opinion of the Attorney General on or before 30 September 2026.
The Council Meetings
It serves to state established facts before voicing our opinion. The SCM initially called on 29 September 2026 did not reach a quorum, so no deliberations or decisions were made. It was postponed to 1 October 2026 and then postponed again as Councillors were attending the Maritime Week Opening that day.
Both SCM were open to the public, although the meeting on 29 September had not been advertised publicly.
We object to procedural misgivings in the way the meetings were called, notwithstanding the need to urgently address the Minister’s directive.
Specifically, the first meeting was adjourned to the next day due to a lack of quorum, then postponed, and the notice for the continuation / third meeting was sent to Councillors 24 hours before instead of the stipulated 72 hours. Considering the time that passed since the first meeting, there is no conceivable reason that a shorter notice was necessary.
In addition, JWBRA Councillor, Hon. Sharon Roodt, received critical documents needed for the meeting in question only at the start of the 7-October meeting, despite them being included in Hon. Shimbilinga’s request from 6 October, for a notice to be issued.
This rushed timeline left no opportunity for a caucus or deliberation when the decision to terminate the RedForce contract will have far-reaching consequences, least of all potentially burdening a vastly underprepared finance department.
JWBRA’s Stance on RedForce
Various RedForce matters, as well as the Municipality’s debt and credit control procedures, in as far as they are relevant to the public, have been discussed at JWBRA Committee meetings.
We maintain our calls for effective in-house debt control of the Walvis Bay Municipality.
However, it is critical that in anything the Municipality of Walvis Bay and the Council do, they follow the relevant legal provisions exactly. The Minister’s directive must be considered in context with the Procurement Act, the Local Authorities Act, the legal opinion of the Attorney-General, the Municipality’s Signing Powers Policy and the High Court Order from 2024 (which holds that the agreement between the parties are fully binding and enforceable and shall endure on the same terms and conditions, and also that the settlement agreement is binding on all parties and their respective successors in title).
The pressure put on Council to reach a decision within two weeks did not leave enough time to fully consider all implications. If the Minister will hold Councillors responsible for reimbursing legal fees, we hope that he will also hold himself to the same standard, should his directive result in another court order against the Municipality.
No matter the outcome of this situation, we urge residents to make payment arrangements and pay their municipal accounts on time. Whether RedForce stops their work or not, money owed is money owed.
Forensic Investigation
The JWBRA is also of the opinion that accountability is an essential value in any public office and therefore supports any call for a fair and transparent investigation into matters of public interest, such as this.
JWBRA Councillor, Hon. Sharon Roodt, would also like to take this opportunity to reiterate that she supported the forensic investigation, as accusations of bribery and corruption are very serious indeed. Light needs to be shed on any kind of suspected corruption so that it can be addressed and rooted out.
Municipal Governance
The Joint Walvis Bay Residents Association (JWBRA) is increasingly concerned about delays in municipal communication, access to information and follow-through on commitments made to residents.
These concerns are not based on a single incident, but on a recurring pattern.
A petition submitted in April 2026, titled “Immediate Municipal Reform and Action on Service Delivery Failures in Walvis Bay”, received a municipal response only on 9 July 2026.
A separate request for an informal meeting to discuss municipal service delivery and landfill matters was received by the Municipality on 16 September, with no response received to date. The landfill situation is costing business hundreds of thousands of dollars for alternative waste disposal and we consider it the bare minimum that the Municipality provides frequent updates on the process of de-proclaiming the Dorob part of the landfill and assuming full jurisdiction for the site.
The Municipality has also committed to making Council agendas and minutes available online. However, documents have continued to require repeated requests before being shared, rather than being readily accessible on the municipal website as residents would reasonably expect.
The same concerns extend to the time taken to address questions and provide information.
For example, questions submitted to Council on 22 June 2026 were read out on 3 September and only answered on 5 October. While this is one example, it illustrates the lengthy process residents and their representatives can face in obtaining answers to legitimate questions.
Frequent short-notice changes to municipal and Councillor schedules also create practical difficulties. We recognise that not all changes are within the Municipality’s control, but the frequency of these disruptions makes clear and timely communication particularly important.
Furthermore, the WENA Investments court case has raised concerns about the handling of billing disputes and the effectiveness of the processes used to identify and resolve them.
Residents need confidence that billing problems are investigated and corrected, and that the lessons from such cases are applied to prevent similar problems from recurring.
Taken together, these matters raise legitimate questions about the Municipality’s responsiveness, its internal processes for following up on commitments, and the practical effectiveness of its communication with residents.
JWBRA recognises that municipal administration involves competing priorities and operational constraints. Our concern is that residents should receive timely responses, access to public information, meaningful progress updates and clear communication when commitments cannot be met – without having to repeatedly ask for them.
In Conclusion
With all of these incidents taken together, one cannot help but wonder where this pattern of reactive scrambling around comes from. We acknowledge that governing a city is complex and that complex problems hardly have simple solutions.
Yet the Local Authority has a duty to its residents, as the Minister of Urban and Rural Development has a duty to the Namibian people to ensure adequate service provision, which includes transparent communication and accountability in their work.
We therefore call upon the Municipality, the Ministry and the Councillors to work together to adhere to the law, and keep Walvis Bay residents adequately informed on these matters.
Sincerely,
Laura Connor, Chairperson
Sharon Roodt, Councillor
Joint Walvis Bay Residents Association
