“For five years, I lived in a cottage on the Morgenster Wine Estate overlooking vineyards and olive groves. It was a glorious existence, hedonistic even, punctuated only occasionally by work and life’s other onerous distractions. And just a few kilometres away, sandwiched between Somerset West and the False Bay coast, was Macassar; even then, poor, depressing, crime-ridden. It was and remains an ugly metaphor for the disparities that so haunt our country. And there I was, in the middle of it.” – John Webb, Executive Producer
Broadcast Bandit
He’s a man of many faces: events planner, film director, pastor, gold trader… and Disney and Netflix distributor. But many say he’s nothing but a con artist. Claiming to be a big-time television producer, he’s taken several broadcasting hopefuls for an expensive ride. Would-be producers paid him their life savings to shoot pilot episodes, drinking in his promises of lucrative deals on television and streaming platforms.
Frustratingly, they were left to foot the bill for cast and crew when their erstwhile mentor did a runner, leaving a trail of fake identities and broken dreams. After a year of searching, Carte Blanche catches up with a scamster who’s traded his director’s chair for a pulpit.
Producer: Sasha Schwendenwein | Research: Laura Byrne | Presenter: Lourensa Eckard
Dancing with Putin
South Africa’s friendship with Russia is a political football that temporarily came to rest last week. On Friday, the High Court confirmed that we’d be required to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes were he to attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg next month. The Department of Justice has now requested a warrant of arrest, while the Presidency confirmed that Putin will attend the summit virtually. It’s a temporary solution to a diplomatic impasse – arrest a high-profile guest or refuse and violate international law – but the debate around Russia’s engagement in Africa is far from settled. Is modern Russia a colonial power bent on exploiting the continent, or does it remain the Soviet friend of its liberation movements? Carte Blanche examines this political quagmire.
Producer: Marion Edmunds | Presenter: Govan Whittles
Macassar’s Dumping Ground
In May this year, a body was found on a beach in Macassar in the Western Cape. The victim, a young woman, had been brutally raped and murdered before being dumped in the sand. There were no witnesses, and over the next few days, three more bodies were discovered in this small community. But it wasn’t always like this: elderly residents who have lived in the once-peaceful fishing village their whole lives recall happier times. But in the past decade, conditions have deteriorated so dramatically that Macassar is no longer safe, with gangs from inside and outside the area roaming the streets. With the police apparently powerless to help, Macassar is under siege.
Producer: Catherine Rice | Presenter: Erin Bates
Tractor Tannie
Mom of two, Corné Else has brought a new twist to the moniker “soccer mom”. For thirteen days this year, Corné drove the family’s battered 59-year-old tractor close to two thousand kilometres through some of South Africa’s smallest towns. She was raising money to send her daughter to a sporting World Championships. Not soccer, though, or even netball. No, this was funding for tug of war. Corné’s daughter Marconette is a South African champion and she’s been invited to the World Champs in Switzerland. But, in the absence of government funding, Corné – with a little help from generous friends and family – devised a cunning plan to get her daughter to Europe.
Producer: Tarryn Crossman | Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli
CARTE BLANCHE: THE PODCAST
JZ, Phone Home
Will Jacob Zuma go back to prison? First, he needs to come back to SA. Then, medical xenophobia under the spotlight this week. And why every day should be Mandela Day.
Broken Peace: A Westbury Story
For days, heavy rains in the Western Cape wreaked havoc on the province. With no electricity and no food supplies coming in, Citrusdal was cut off and farmers suffered devastating losses. We visit a community in turmoil.
Shooting for Success
In a community overcome by drug abuse and teen pregnancy, one woman is using sports to bring change. Now, a battered netball court has become the building blocks for a better future.
PICKS OF THE WEEK
Let Them Eat Pap
It’s a story that spans continents – from Europe to the USA, and to Kuruman in the Northern Cape. In 2004, Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg arrived in South Africa looking for manganese mining opportunities and a BEE partner to win the mining rights. Several politically connected entities jostled for the privilege, but one consortium stood out. It included the ANC’s investment holding company, Chancellor House and the little-known Kuruman Community Trust. The consortium won the mining rights and Vekselberg invested $350 million to build the mine. Today, the mine is the third-largest manganese producer in the world and the shareholders should all be reaping the benefits. But that hasn’t been the case for the poor local villagers who are beneficiaries of the Kuruman Community Trust. While the politically connected earn millions from the mine, they’ve been reduced to little more than R1000 a year and an annual Christmas hamper. Believing they were simply used to acquire the mining rights, they survive on pensions and government grants in villages with no running water, no inside toilets, and no jobs. In this two-part investigation, Carte Blanche examines how the poor and disenfranchised were used to line the pockets of the rich.
‘Til the Wheels Come Off
In 2013, Daniel Janse van Rensburg was illegally detained for more than 400 days in one of Equatorial Guinea’s worst prisons. Notorious for the brutalisation and neglect of prisoners, inmates at Black Beach are denied visiting rights and medical treatment. After eventually being released and returning to South Africa, Daniel sued the country’s vice president, Teodorin Obiang, the man he believes had him incarcerated at Black Beach. In 2021, the Western Cape High Court awarded him R39 million for his losses and suffering and illegal incarceration and ordered the attachment of Obiang’s assets. Then, on the 9th of February this year, two days after a super yacht belonging to Obiang was seized in Cape Town, two South African citizens were detained in Equatorial Guinea and sent to Black Beach. Coincidence or a perverse act of revenge?
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