“Rarely, if ever, have I seen Tatjana Smith as emotional as she was in her recent interview with us. And who can blame her? That our greatest-ever Olympian was treated with such apparent disdain by swimming’s administrators is unforgivable. Sadly, hers is not an isolated case, as our recent reports on the controlling bodies of other sports have shown.” – John Webb, Executive Producer
Sink or Swim
What happens when the organisation meant to develop aquatic sport becomes the obstacle athletes say they have to overcome? In August, World Aquatics’ independent disciplinary body provisionally suspended two executives at Swimming South Africa (SSA) over alleged Integrity Code violations. It’s a dramatic development in an ongoing saga of governance battles, funding controversies and legal challenges. One champion athlete’s dispute over prize money and sponsorships; insiders raising questions; public outcry from swimming legends… The scandals are mounting. Carte Blanche examines a crisis affecting everyone from grassroots athletes to Olympic medallists.
Producer: Harri Vithi | Presenter: Erin Bates
A Trade in Skins
Nearly ten years ago, Carte Blanche investigated the brutal slaughter of donkeys for their skins in the Northern Cape. A decade later, has anything changed? Used to make traditional Chinese medicine, donkey skins are in such high demand that the African Union has placed a moratorium on their slaughter. At home, it’s still legal – and, theoretically, regulated. But raids reveal dozens of carcasses in backyard butcheries, and insiders claim thousands of horses and donkeys are making their way into an illicit hide and meat market. Carte Blanche steps back into a trade where the line between legal trade and crime blurs – and cruelty is often the result.
Producer: Carol Albertyn Christie | Presenter: Govan Whittles
The Hani Legacy
Angry, cynical, and poor… South Africans have lost faith in the promises of liberation. In three decades of democracy, cities have crumbled, mass unemployment has driven crime to new heights, and political support for the ANC has been decimated. Now, as the country gears up for local elections, one family hopes that their name will help shape the future. Giant of the armed struggle, Chris Hani, was assassinated in 1993, leaving behind his children and his wife, Limpho. Now, the family have commissioned friend and author Zakes Mda to write an autobiography of his life. And Limpho and her youngest daughter Lindiwe are calling for accountability and renewal in the name of a freedom fighter who, more than five decades ago, foreshadowed the erosion of his beloved party.
Producer: Joy Summers | Presenter: Claire Mawisa
MISSED THESE MOMENTS?
Culling Comeback?
Show Me the Science!
Unlike the government, investigative wildlife journalist Adam Cruise doesn’t believe the decision to cull elephants is scientifically or rationally sound.
Warning Bells:
On Deaf Ears
This boy befriended the teen who allegedly stabbed a six-year-old girl at a KZN school. He says he tried to report the teen’s worrying behaviour to police, but he was turned away.
Skeleton School:
Know Your Politicians
Yahweh 1 Construction and Projects is owned by Phumeza Mangcu. Despite questions around a multimillion-rand school construction project, she’s in the race to become mayor of Tshwane.
Culling Comback?
Failure to Act
For 25 years, a birth control campaign has been successfully curbing the growth of some elephant herds in South Africa – at little to no cost to the government. But North West province has failed to dose a single elephant.
Warning Bells:
The TCC
While investigating the months leading up to the stabbing of a six-year-old girl at a KZN school, details revealed a teen boy seemingly enticed by several extreme online subcultures, including one widely known as the TCC (True Crime Community).
Skeleton School:
A Money Grab
Gauteng government claims Semphato School is 94% complete. But subcontractor Nhlanhla Mkhize says he soon realised all was not well with the R133-million project.
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