Renthia Kaimbi
Walvis Bay mayor Johannes Shimbilinga last week led a delegation of councillors on a tour of the municipality’s Traffic and Fire Brigade departments.
The visit aimed to give councillors a clearer view of the daily work and challenges faced by essential service providers responsible for public safety and emergency response in the town.
Councillors received guided tours of both departments and observed operations firsthand. The visits focused on service readiness ahead of the busy festive season.
At the traffic department, acting chief traffic officer Clifton Jacobs outlined key operational challenges. These include limited resources and rising service demands.
He also briefed councillors on measures underway to manage these pressures while preparing for increased traffic during the holidays.
Shimbilinga and the councillors thanked traffic officers for their commitment, noting that many staff members will spend the festive period on duty to ensure road safety.
“The time is now to find meaningful solutions,” Shimbilinga said, reaffirming the council’s commitment to strengthening the traffic staff complement to improve service delivery.
At the fire brigade headquarters, fire, emergency and protection services chief Tutaleni Kathindi explained the unit’s role in disaster management and community protection.
He highlighted the importance of planning and demonstrated the brigade’s fleet, outlining its firefighting capacity and response procedures.
Kathindi also shared future plans for the service. These include installing CCTV cameras across Walvis Bay and building new satellite fire stations in Kuisebmond and Farm 37 to improve response times and coverage.
