For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sane Dhlamini.

Making headlines: Zondo says government must tighten up public procurement to fight corruption, Rand Water reports stabilising bulk system and, Ramaphosa deploys army to tackle illegal mining

Zondo says government must tighten up public procurement to fight corruption

Chief Justice Raymond Zondo advised government to “close the taps” in public procurement to effectively fight corruption.

Zondo was speaking at the National Dialogue on Anti-Corruption, in Johannesburg, where he said that corruption in the country had reached unacceptable levels, and that unless attended to, citizens would not have a country worthy to call home.

He said most of the corruption in the country was in the public procurement sector, which remained vulnerable to corruption with millions of rands looted every day.

Rand Water reports stabilising bulk system

Bulk water supplier Rand Water has reported a recovering and stabilising bulk water system, as critical reservoirs start improving to acceptable levels and metropolitan consumption is on a downward trajectory.

Rand Water COO Mahlomola Mehlo said that the critical reservoirs of the bulk water supplier were on an upward increase, with the 53 reservoirs currently in commission collectively reaching the so-called 50 zone.

However, the company is targeting reservoir levels in the 60 to 80 zone, which will enable the utility to undertake routine maintenance without interrupting any water supply as the reservoirs are operating at higher levels.

Meanwhile, while the three major metropoles’ consumption remain above targeted levels, there have been improvements since last week.

Ramaphosa deploys army to tackle illegal mining

President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised the deployment of 3 300 army personnel to help combat illegal mining activities, his office has said.

Ramaphosa's spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the deployment of the South African National Defence Force, which is expected to cost about R492-million, is aimed at maintaining law and order under "Operation Prosper".

The army was previously deployed in 2019 to the Western Cape province to fight gang violence under the same operation.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

Don’t forget to follow us on the X platform, at the handle @PolityZA