“I reported on Cape Town’s red zones as a presenter for Carte Blanche in 2016. We emerged unscathed from what turned out to be a relatively quiet night for the paramedics we were following. And yet, I recall the anxiety of our crew as we drove through the dimly lit streets of the Cape Flats, ominously quiet on that night. There were patients to attend to – some critical – but absent on that occasion was the criminal menace that so often accompanied the job. On Sunday, we report that the situation hasn’t improved and that first responders on the Cape Flats are as under threat as they’ve ever been.” ~ John Webb, Executive Producer
Black Gold
Coal is a valuable commodity, untraceable and in high demand. In South Africa, thousands of coal trucks criss-cross the country, transporting it to lucrative export markets. But the stakes are even higher on the illicit market. Criminal syndicates target the coal industry, brazenly stealing thousands of tons from coal trucks. Their methods are evolving to feed the black market and evade seemingly ineffective law enforcement. In one of our biggest stings yet, the Carte Blanche team infiltrates the illegal black market to show you first-hand how stolen coal is traded.
Producer: Nicky Troll | Presenter: Govan Whittles
The Big Coal Switch
Coal – it’s a commodity in high demand – locally and globally. Power stations need it, export markets want it, and criminals are after their slice of the action. The black market for coal is thriving, and a devious new trend is hitting the industry. Syndicates are paying willing transport company drivers to replace their loads of high-grade coal with a lower grade product. The driver pockets a cut of the profits, while the criminals sell the loads of coal back to the legitimate market at a premium. It’s called coal switching and Carte Blanche has the inside edge on how it’s done, and who’s pocketing the lion’s share.
Red Zones
Emergency medical crews are coming under attack while on duty across the country. In the Western Cape alone, more than 40 incidents of violence directed at paramedics were recorded last year. In a bid to protect paramedics, so-called red zones were declared in the province in 2016: areas that paramedics dare not enter without a police escort. But, even with additional security, their safety is not guaranteed as the red zones become increasingly dangerous. For these paramedics, putting their lives on the line to save critically ill or injured patients is all part of a day’s work. This Sunday, we join these unsung heroes as they enter the dark side of the city on a busy Friday night to reach their patients.
Producer: Catherine Rice | Presenter: Erin Bate
Sebokeng’s Second Chance
When a child is in an accident or suffers a burn injury, they are rushed to the emergency unit of the nearest hospital – along with every adult in need of urgent care. In most South African casualty wards, there is no distinction between adult and child patients, much to the children’s detriment. They need specialised triage techniques and knowledge, and adult equipment is not designed for tiny bodies. At Sebokeng Regional Hospital, the situation for young patients has become dire. Now, the Carte Blanche Making A Different (MAD) Trust has stepped in. The Trust undertakes special projects for paediatric units in state hospitals. Having recently completed a Paediatric Burns Outpatient Department at Ngwelezana Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, the MAD Trust is creating a first-of-its-kind children’s trauma facility in its third project at Sebokeng Hospital.
Producer: Laura Byrne & Karolina Andropoulos | Presenter: Erin Bates
PICKS OF THE WEEK
Dancing with the Cars
On a street in Rosebank in Johannesburg, the traffic light turns red and a group of eight young boys turn a busy intersection into their dance floor. With their high-energy foot movements and rapid hand gestures they’re a familiar sight for many motorists and, for several seconds before the lights turn green, they’re guaranteed a captive audience. But it’s not all fun and games for this troupe of dancers. It’s a dance for survival. Hailing from Alex, a hardened township in Gauteng popularly known as Gomora, these street dancers push their talents to the very limit, collecting a small payment from drivers eager to be entertained.
Soccer’s Lost Legacy
In a village in Zeerust in the North West, 16-year-old Kutlwano Motswenyane plays soccer with his friends on a dusty field. He dreams of becoming an international football star. But with scarce resources in this community, his future is bleak. This shouldn’t be the case. In 2010, South Africa hosted the FIFA Soccer World Cup. The reward for its success was a R450-million cash injection to form a Legacy Trust Fund to support and develop the game. The Legacy Trust should’ve become South Africa’s soccer heritage but, more than a decade later, it’s been milked dry, providing no benefit to players like Kutlwano.
Guptagate: Full Circle
The infamous Guptas – a family on the run from the long arm of the law. Now, they could be just months away from extradition to South Africa. It was the scandal that broke a presidency, and rocked a nation to its core, starting with the landing of a private plane at the Waterkloof Air Force Base and culminating in wholesale state capture. Now, it’s seemingly come full circle. Two brothers – Rajesh and Atul Gupta, wanted on a red Interpol notice for widespread graft, fraud, and money laundering – have been arrested in Dubai. The brothers and their wives had fled South Africa amid allegations of looting, estimated to have cost the country tens of billions of rands, crippling Eskom, SAA, Transnet, Denel and Prasa, among others… But do the long-awaited arrests mean two of the masterminds of State Capture are now a step closer to being handed over to South African authorities?
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