For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Halima Frost.

Making headlines: Fuel price to rise for first time in six months; DA introduces Anti-Corruption Bill in Parliament; And, City of Joburg meets with Water Department, as city faces water challenges

Fuel price to rise for first time in six months

South African fuel prices will increase for the first time in six months as rising international oil prices offset the impact of a stronger rand.

The retail cost of 95-octane petrol in Gauteng, the country’s economic hub, will advance 1.2% to R21.30 per litre from November 6, South Africa’s Central Energy Fund said today. Diesel will climb for the first time in seven months, with the wholesale price rising 1.1%.

Higher international oil prices drove the increase, according to the CEF. Petrol and diesel prices are still lower than a year earlier, which means the move won’t contribute to a higher annual inflation rate in November. Fuel directly accounts for almost 5% of South Africa’s inflation basket.

The government has started discussions about “reducing administered prices” that include general fuel and Road Accident Fund levies, Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe said last month.

DA introduces Anti-Corruption Bill in Parliament

The Democratic Alliance has proposed to Parliament the Anti-Corruption Bill, which seeks to introduce an Anti-Corruption Commission as an independent, Chapter 9 institution, focused solely on investigating and prosecuting serious corruption cases.

DA justice and constitutional development spokesperson Glynnis Breytenbach said the Anti-Corruption Bill sought to create a fully independent Chapter 9 institution, with its sole mandate being the investigation and prosecution of high-level perpetrators.

Breytenbach pointed out that currently, the National Prosecuting Authority was the only institution with the power to prosecute those accused of serious corruption and high-level organised crime.

She said in practice, however, the NPA lacks the institutional independence or the resources to effectively prosecute these complex crimes.

Breytenbach explained that the ACC would be “institutionally and operationally” independent.

And, City of Joburg meets with Water Department, as city faces water challenges

The Department of Water and Sanitation and the City of Johannesburg held a meeting over the weekend to discuss interventions as the city battles various water challenges.

Exceedingly high water consumption, leaks and high nonrevenue water are the major contributors to these challenges.

This followed Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina’s monitoring of the progress made at the new under-construction 26 megalitres Brixton water reservoir.

The new Brixton reservoir, which will augment water needs in the city and is expected to be completed in April 2025, forms part of the CoJ’s interventions to mitigate and overcome the water challenges.

Majodina commended CoJ Executive Mayor Councillor Dada Morero and project leaders on the initiative, saying the new reservoir will help the city’s ever-growing population.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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