Off the Rails: Watch Carte Blanche, this Sunday 31 October 2021 at 19:00, only on M-Net
I N V E S T I G A T I O N S
Red-Carded Rassie
SA Director of Rugby, Rassie Erasmus, does not mince his words, a trait that could earn him the wrath of the sport’s governing body, World Rugby. Did he overstep the mark in his now infamous video, leaked online after the Boks’ defeat in the first test against the British and Irish Lions earlier this year? Or did he shine a light on an organisation lacking accountability and in need of reform? Questions Carte Blanche attempts to answer as Erasmus finally faces up to allegations of misconduct and violating the sport’s code of conduct.
Producer: Graham Coetzer | Presenter: Bongani Bingwa
Masa Kekana: “How do 11 elderly people get murdered in a small village where everyone knows each other and yet not a single arrest?”
Cacadu Serial Killer
Fear is stalking the residents of a tiny village in the Eastern Cape where 11 elderly members of the Zingqolweni community in Cacadu have, in the space of a year, been found dead in their homes. Believed to be the work of the same murderer using the same modus operandi, Carte Blanche confronts the South African Police Service on why its investigation seems to have stalled. Meanwhile, vulnerable residents are left to protect one another as a violent killer stalks them under the cover of darkness.
Producer: Sinethemba Nogude | Presenter: Masa Kekana
Free State Municipal Mayhem
Billions of rands in debt and with dismal audit outcomes, there are warnings municipalities in the Free State province are facing imminent collapse. The Matjhabeng Local Municipality, tasked with serving towns like Welkom and Virginia, owes millions of rands to Eskom. In turn, Eskom has resorted to taking over farmland from the council to secure its debt. Meanwhile, as Sedibeng Water struggles to get the council to repay the billions it is owed, residents bear the brunt of the dysfunction and businesses contend with irregular water supply, no electricity and raw sewage on their doorstep. Communities are desperate for jobs and investment, but crumbling roads and failing infrastructure are turning small towns like Welkom into ghost towns as businesses close shop and relocate. What will be left behind if municipalities fail to turn things around?
Producer: Siniketiwe Hlanze | Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli
Eskom’s Battle of Majuba
As South Africans weather yet another week of loadshedding, Carte Blanche asks why the critical Majuba railway system is still not operational. Having taken Eskom over a decade to build and setting back the utility by R8 billion, the railway was intended to ensure the transport of coal in a more cost-effective manner to the third-largest power station Eskom’s ageing fleet. Meanwhile, small and large-scale coal suppliers, transport, and trucking companies have formed what is described as an ecosystem feeding off the embattled power provider.
Producer: Anina Peens | Presenter: Masa Kekana
Please note: Carte Blanche line-ups are subject to change. Stories can be viewed at www.carteblanche.co.za
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