Thesis (MPhil) -- Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study is aimed at determining whether the Port of Walvis Bay has what it takes to become a future hub port on the south-western coast of Africa. An equally important aspect of this study is to promote Walvis Bay as an economically viable option for trade in and out of Central and Southern Africa, and what proportion of traffic Walvis Bay could expect to capture from competing regional ports, especially the ports of Durban and Cape Town. The conclusions arrived at in this study indicate that the prospects for transforming Walvis Bay into a future hub port will depend on the increased involvement of the private sector, political and industrial stability, as well as regional integration to mention just a few. It is clear that Walvis Bay does not pose a competitive threat to the ports of Cape Town and Durban, and can only perform a complementary role. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studiestuk is om te bepaal of die Hawe van Walvisbaai oor die vermoë beskik om ‘n sentrale hawe vir die suidelike en weskus van Afrika te wees. ‘n Belangrike aspek van die studie is om Walvisbaai te bevorder as ‘n ekonomiese alternatief vir handel na en vanaf Sentraal en Suidelike Afrika, en om die verhouding van verkeer te bepaal wat gewen kan word vanaf kompeterende hawens in die streek, veral die Durbanse en Kaapse Hawens. Die resultate bewys dat die moontlikhede om Walvisbaai te omskep in ‘n toekomstige sentrale hawe, alleenlik deur die deelname en samewerking van die privaatsektor, politieke goeie wil, die industriële stabiliteit van die land en integrasie met buurstate bewerkstellig kan word. Walvisbaai hou geen kompeterende bedreiging in vir die hawens van Kaapstad en Durban nie, en kan slegs ‘n komplementerende rol speel.

The thesis focuses upon the final reintegration of Walvis Bay and its twelve Penguin/Off-Shore Islands into Namibia. As Namibia's only deep water port, it escaped reintegration in 1989 when the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 435 (1978) was implemented. Hence the study argues that the exclusion of Walvis Bay from the Settlement Plan falls outside the parameters of various UNSC and UN General Assembly Resolutions, viz 385 and 432 of 1976 respectively. Such an arrangement has to be looked at as Pretoria's non-compliance with the above resolutions. South Africa got away with such an arrangement with the blessing of the Western Contact Group of Nations, i.e the United States; Britain; (former West) Germany; France and Canada. The argument advances further to capture the sudden emergence of Walvis Bay as a dispute between the National Party regime and the African National Congress (ANC) in particular. The dispute came about when the National Party submitted a controversial constitutional proposal during South Africa's transition to democracy at Kempton Park. They were proposing Walvis Bay to constitute part of the new Western Cape province in the postapartheid South Africa. Namibia's diplomacy paid off when the return of Walvis Bay was agreed upon as it became entangled in the constitutional talks for South Africa's transition to democracy at Kempton Park in 1993-1994.