Top news items of S. African major media outlets

The following are highlights of South African major media outlets on Thursday.

-- Credit ratings agency Moody's has warned that it could cut the investment grades of electricity utility Eskom, the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL), the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the Land Bank imminently, after it placed them on immediate review for a downgrade on Wednesday.

The sudden and dramatic action by Moody's indicates significantly heightened investor concerns over state-owned companies, several of which have been tainted by governance and corruption concerns over the past few months.(Business Day)

-- Before the end of next year VBS Mutual Bank, which granted President Jacob Zuma a R7.8m (US$550,000) loan to pay his Nkandla debt, will soon have a branch in major townships across South Africa.

VBS CEO Andile Ramavhunga said in a radio interview on Power FM987 that the bank's expansion plans are well underway. It opened a branch in Johannesburg in May this year and now have a corporate office in Rivonia. It is also looking at Pretoria and mainly in Soweto as the next expansion phase.(Power FM987)

-- Struggle stalwart, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, says she plans to lead a campaign to assist the widows and orphans who lost family members during the 2012 Marikana killings.

Forty four people including 34 miners, police officers and security guards lost their lives during an unprotected strike at Lonmin mine.(South African Broadcasting Corporation) Endit