Top news items in major S. African media outlets

CAPE TOWN, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The following are news items in South African major news outlets on Saturday.

-- The rand continued to firm in the early hours of Friday afternoon, as analysts remained cautiously optimistic that Moody's would not downgrade SA's sovereign debt to junk.

At 15:20 on Friday the local currency was trading at 11.76 per USD, up 0.75 percent on the day. It had opened at 11.85 to the greenback. .(Fin24)

-- The troubled provinces under the African National Congress (ANC) are expected to come under scrutiny when the party's National Executive Committee (NEC) holds a three-day meeting, starting on Friday, in Cape Town.

According to an NEC member, this is where the battle between President Cyril Ramaphosa's faction and those who supported Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma's bid for presidency will be waged once more. (News24)

-- Former President Thabo Mbeki on Friday commended the African Union's (AU) declaration towards a free trade area, but warned that the continent is not ready for a common currency.

Mbeki was addressing students at the University of South Africa where he said that the free trade area is necessary but will be difficult to implement. (South African Broadcasting Corporation) Enditem