By 
Mangaung Metro has recently experienced an upsurge in robberies down town CBD in Bloemfontein, videos of gangs robbing people have gone viral on social media and have caused panic amongst citizens.
The City recently hosted its inaugural Investment Summit where it invited investors from different parts of the world including India, China and Indonesia amongst others, to expose them to the diverse investment opportunities worth billions that will turn the metro into a world class city.
The City Manager of Mangaung Metro Mr Sello More positioned the municipality as a bankable city that is globally attractive and safe, work, live and to invest in. the recent crimes undermine the efforts of the municipality to grow its economy and attract investors.
The crimes however did not go unnoticed; the MMC for Public Safety and Transport Cllr Sibongile Tsoleli convened a meeting with her supervisors from Traffic and Law Enforcement on Tuesday, 1 April 2025, where the crime hotspots within the CBD formed the main part of the agenda.
Tsoleli told her team of supervisors that they need to be on the ground to address the safety concerns of residents and protect the image of the City.
“There are monthly operations that we have with the South African Police Services, and we need all supervisors to be there leading their teams. We have all seen the videos on social media that have sparked safety concerns from the community,” said MMC Sibongile Tsoleli.
Tsoleli alluded that such incidents will affect investor confidence in the City, issues of safety are repulsive towards investors and they might look elsewhere to invest.
“Investors won’t invest in a City that is not safe, we need to cover all the hotspots in the City, we have the CCTV cameras across the City that show criminal activities in the City,” said Tsoleli.
The MMC said her department has partnered with other law enforcement agencies to ensure that all corners of Mangaung are covered.
“We understand that you are working with constrained resources, and we are always looking for more resources,” she concluded.
