Mangaung is a Sesotho name meaning "place of Cheetahs". Legend has it that when the first settlers arrived, they were stunned by the vast Plains that were roamed freely by cheetahs. Before the municipal Elections of 18 May 2011 Mangaung was a local Municipality under the Motheo District Municipality. The Motheo District was disenabled on 18 May 2011. When this happened; of its three constituent local Municipalities: Mangaung was upgraded to become an autonomous metropolitan Municipality, Naledi became part of Xhariep, and Mantsopa became part of Thabo Mofutsanyane.

Commercial and private planes can easily be spotted on the runway a few meters away from their open air viewing deck. It all began when In 1974 the dream became a reality and work began to build Johannesburg’s alternative International Airport, with a mere investment of R 2,7 Million. The residents of the Area were not too excited about the prospect of getting a noisy airport on the boarders of their peaceful Farming land! They formed a committee and protested against the development, which regularly made front page news. However, the Minister of Planning, Mr J.J.

The renaming ceremony of the Johannesburg International Airport to O.R Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, October 27, 2006. Oliver Reginald Tambo was President of the African National Congress at the height of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. The ceremony coincided with his birthday!