By 
Walking the talk, the Free State Province Premier Ms MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae held meetings with the leadership of the sole metro in the province, Mangaung Metro led by its Executive Mayor Cllr Gregory Nthatisi.
Premier Letsoha-Mathae hosted the Mangaung Metro leadership at O.R Tambo House in Bloemfontein on Monday, 31 March 2025, to discuss ways in which the provincial government can assist the City in resolving its challenges, including that of service delivery.
Mangaung Metro has been making strides in becoming a globally safe city to live, work and invest in, it recently hosted an inaugural Investment Summit to entice investors to invest in the City by exposing them to the lucrative opportunities in various sectors within Mangaung Metro.
Though the City is the largest contributor towards the province’s GDP by 40% and 2% towards national GDP, it still has a long way to go in resolving its service delivery challenges, with aging infrastructure.
During her State of the Province Address (SOPA) the Premier expressed concern over the state of municipalities in the Free State and committed to working on getting them in shape, the first stop was Mangaung Metro.
During the meeting on Monday, she affirmed Nthatisi that provincial government will not interfere in the affairs of the municipality.
“We are going to assist our municipalities so that they are able to provide services to our people. This must not be seen as interference. We are one government and where our intervention is required, we will happily intervene.
Executive Mayor, we know it is not easy but rest assured, we are behind you,” affirmed Letsoha-Mathae.
MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae spoke sternly against corruption and said it will not be tolerated and warned those aiding and abetting criminal elements within local government that they will faced the full wrath of the law.
The Premier held a second engagement with the Metro on Tuesday, 1 April 2025, at the headquarters of the City in Bloemfontein accompanied by her Executive Committee. The visit was to get an update on the implementation of the Financial Recovery Plan (FRP) put in place by National Treasury.
“We want to understand the issues that the metro is faced with, so that we can assist where possible. The office of the Auditor General presented on the current financial health of the City and service delivery challenges on the ground; I would like for all of us to discuss how best we can discuss the issues raised by the Auditor General’s office,” said Premier Letsoha-Mathae.
