Jubilant mayor lauds progress of ‘wasteland’

WHEN BARTHOLOMEW Diaz discovered Walvis Bay and Luderitz in 1487, he considered them to be ports in a wasteland with little future opportunity to develop.
“I wonder what he would have to say if he were to return here today and see what has happened,” said a jubilant King Mandume, mayor of Walvis Bay, when he attended the port’s 10th anniversary celebrations.
“I don’t think he could have imagined the possibility of a harbour city housing more than 50 000 people and processing millions of tons of cargo annually.
“He could never have imagined successful industries such as commercial fishing and manufacturing as well as the production of salt and granite mining which now provide so much of the cargo going through this port.
“The simple fact is that in spite of the wasteland which lay before him, he had
no conception of the potential of this
vibrant area.”