February 21, 2013.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Motshabi Hoaeane.

Making headlines:

The Department of Human Settlements takes steps to rectify badly-built RDP houses.

Kenya’s Chief Justice Willy Mutunga says judges are being threatened ahead of the elections.

And, Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba intervenes in the Eskom strike.

The department of human settlements said on Wednesday that steps were being taken to rectify badly-built RDP houses and to hold responsible parties accountable.

Human settlements director-general Thabane Zulu said the department would soon introduce a house rectification programme to deal with defective houses built from 2002. He said that the Special Investigating Unit was also conducting investigations into several housing contracts, and that scores of people had already been convicted.

Zulu was responding to a call from Public Protector Thuli Madonsela for feedback from the department about its progress in dealing with problems with RDP houses.

He said that contractors who were responsible for this shoddy workmanship are currently being prosecuted and public monies are being recovered. He added that, on the issue of public servants from various national, provincial and local municipalities who fraudulently benefited from the government housing programme, 1061 officials were prosecuted between 2010 and 2012, with 1 002 of these officials convicted.

Kenya's Chief justice Willy Mutunga said on Wednesday that he and other judges had been threatened by a criminal gang who warned them against trying to stop a candidate accused of bankrolling tribal violence, from running for the presidency next month.

Mutunga said attacks against five judges and threats against him were evidence of an emerging "pattern of harassment" of the judiciary before the vote.

Uhuru Kenyatta, a former finance minister and the son of the country's founding president, is one of four Kenyans accused at the International Criminal Court of orchestrating violence that killed 1 200 people after the last vote in 2007.

Rights groups have sought the courts' help to strike Kenyatta out of the race, saying his integrity was discredited by his trial at The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity.

Public Enterprise Minister Malusi Gigaba met with Eskom's Medupi Power Station construction stakeholders on Wednesday to "broker a resolution" so that construction in Lephalale could resume.

Limpopo police said last Friday that 46 workers were arrested at the power station following violent protests. Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said they appeared in court and were released on R500 bail each. The bail conditions include not engaging in another protest situation and not intimidating or interfering with witnesses.

Gigaba's spokesperson Richard Mantu said the minister's intervention is aimed at assisting the parties to reach a negotiated settlement to end the industrial action, and ensure that they develop collectively a lasting solution to the problems.

Mantu said the parties agreed in principle to commit towards finding a resolution and to ensure that construction continues as "a matter of urgency".

Also making headlines:

The World Energy Council’s secretary-general Christoph Frei says South Africa needs a balance between energy affordability and access.

French General Francois Lecointre urges the EU to equip Mali’s  'impoverished' army.

Sudanese rebels launch an attack to retake a border town in the Blue Nile.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.