The new Free State Premier has urged community members to help combat crime.

MaQueen Letsoha Mathae said residents are the ones who can ensure that people are safe by joining hands with government and law enforcement agencies. 

Speaking at the Raadsaal in Bloemfontein after being inaugurated, Mathae promised to continue fighting crime and doing away with illegal foreign nationals – especially those who took over spaza shops and the township’s economy.

‘Where are these criminals – they are living in our communities’

“The question is, who allows these people into our communities and townships? It’s like crime, you say ‘go and fight crime’ but where are these criminals? They are living in our communities. We need partnerships with our communities to assist us to address that,” she asserted.

Mathae also promised to address pothole challenges, create jobs for the youth, and deal with pressing service delivery issues.

The DA’s Roy Jankielsohn, however, cast doubt over Mathae’s potential to bring much-needed change to the province.

He pointed out that during Mathae’s tenure as MEC for Community Safety, Roads, and Transport, the department faced numerous issues. “Some of the testing stations still do not have pay points and are not up to the standard required, and people continue to die on the roads,” he said.

Mathae, however, painted a picture of how she has improved the road infrastructure since taking over as MEC at that department. She emphasised that she will continue from where the previous premier left off, as they already put systems in place to improve service delivery in the province.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi cg