Reaching Beyond Stars: Watch Carte Blanche, this Sunday 16 May 2021 at 19:00, only on M-Net
Macfarlane Moleli: “Farm attacks in South Africa are an emotive subject. As a country, we’re faced with violent crime every single day. When you hear that more than 20 000 people are killed in South Africa and, of that 63 are farmers, it almost seems like an insignificant number. But what are the knock-on effects of those 63 that have died? Production has halted, people have lost their jobs, families have lost their livelihoods, food security becomes an issue. So, it’s not about the numbers, but it’s about the people, it’s about the faces. It’s about the families that get destroyed as a result of farm murders.”
KZN Farmers Take Back Their Security
Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza has called an attack on farmers an attack on the country’s food security. A Rural National Safety Plan has long been mooted, but where are the results? With 15 recorded murders on KwaZulu-Natal farms in the last year, farmers are coming together to take their safety into their own hands. Through a community-funded network of cameras, security companies and farming associations, the farmers are equipping themselves to track down farm murderers and bring them to book. But as the communities step up, Carte Blanche sits down with Premier Sihle Zikalala to ask where government fits into the equation.
Producer: Nicky Troll | Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli
Elusive Online Scammer Busted
Online scams are easy to perpetuate – anyone, including scamsters, can create a website and hide behind privacy laws. But Carte Blanche was up for the challenge to find them after thousands of people, apparently scammed by an online retailer claiming to sell anything from dishwashers to baby products to bricks and swimming pools, complained to the show. After parting with their money, clients never saw their deliveries or refunds. Using online digital footprinting and good old-fashioned footwork to track down a group of young scammers in Pretoria and the Eastern Cape, we unravel the complicated connections.
Producer: Sasha Schwendenwein | Researcher: Erin Hommes | Presenter: Masa Kekana
Nailcare Brand Chipped and Cracked
The dream was to buy into an internationally-renowned nailcare franchise. But after investing millions into this business venture, some investors got nothing out. Last year, we revealed the financial losses and broken promises that investors suffered at the hands of the franchisors who had raked in millions from their franchisees. Now, Carte Blanche investigates why the American Licensor threatened to terminate the Master License Agreement for the South African company when they failed to comply with an audit.
Producer: Kate Barry | Presenter: Masa Kekana
A B U N D A N T L I F E
Sharing the Stock Market
Not too long ago, stock trading was a complex and intimidating undertaking for a privileged few. Now, a growing army of online retail investor communities, using mobile trading applications, are venturing into online stock trading. Lockdown meant more time at home and spending money on peripherals, resulting in a rapid rise in online trading platforms. Like never before, even beginners are trying their hand at stock trading – with surprising and some not-so-good results. Carte Blanche asks whether the trend is here to stay and whether it’s as safe as it is easy.
Producer: Julian Sun | Presenter: Masa Kekana
Save Our Soil
The beauty of cultivated farmlands belies a disturbing truth: that much of our soil can no longer support life. Over-farming, pesticides and chemicals have stripped the nutrients from massive regions of earth. But Carte Blanche investigates the groundswell of people who are determined to bring soil back to life. From farmers who have made the switch to organic ways of working the land, to innovators who are making nutritious food out of thin air – it’s becoming increasingly possible to disconnect food production from agriculture and restore life to soil.
Producer & Presenter: John Webb
Reaching Beyond Stars
When the most powerful radio telescope in the world – known as MeerKAT – was first set up, Carte Blanche was there. Now, we reveal some of the breathtaking discoveries astronomers have made using it. But these are only a foretaste of what the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is all about. With construction set to begin this year, it’s one of the biggest collective scientific endeavours in history – to build the biggest radio telescope ever. This powerful telescope made up of thousands of collecting dishes spread out over 3000 km, will allow scientists to understand how the earliest stars and galaxies formed, reveal the nature of mysterious dark matter and perhaps even detect life elsewhere in the universe. Most of the SKA will be built in the Karoo and will make the small town of Carnarvon one of the premiere destinations for all of astronomy.
Producer: Julian Sun | Presenter: Derek Watts
