Top news items in major S. African media outlets

CAPE TOWN, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The following are news items in South African major news outlets on Thursday:

-- Schools will not close if Cape Town reaches Day Zero when water taps are turned off, Western Cape Premier Helen Zille said on Wednesday.

"Whatever happens, we intend to keep schools open," Zille said at a mass meeting of school principals and education officials in Kuils River, Cape Town. (News24)

-- The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Wednesday prosecutors have two weeks to study President Jacob Zuma's representations into why he should not be indicted for corruption.

On Wednesday night, Zuma's legal team filed the representation to NPA head Shaun Abrahams, explaining why the president should not face the 783 charges of fraud, money laundering and racketeering. (Eyewitness News).

-- South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Wednesday apologized unconditionally to the families and the nation for the deaths of at least 144 mentally-ill patients after they were transferred to unlicensed NGOs across Gauteng Province.

Motsoaledi said there's a need to investigate the possible abduction or kidnapping of the patients, as they were not properly discharged from the Life Esidimeni facility. (South African Broadcasting Corporation) Enditem