Coming Up On Carte Blanche – 28 January 2024

“There’s a lot to be outraged about right now. Much of what is happening in the world appears to be edging us closer to some sort of cataclysm. And all the while, the level-headed among us are numb-struck by world leaders prepared to sacrifice anything – including all of us – to assuage their narcissism. How can they be so narrow-minded, so thoughtless, so selfish? Well, watch Sunday’s show for a microcosm of what drives depravity; of a mind that recognises the evil in what it does, and does it anyway.” ~ John Webb, Executive Producer

Menacing Midwife

In 2020, Carte Blanche exposed a Pretoria-based midwife accused of using an extremely dangerous drug to speed up her patients’ deliveries without their consent. Five babies died and several others were left severely disabled. Yolande Maritz’s licence to practice was revoked. But four years later, she’s back. Now, practicing under a new name, our undercover investigation reveals how the disgraced midwife has continued to offer home births and has delivered at least one baby. It didn’t take long to catch her in the act.

Producer: Tarryn Crossman | Presenter: Masa Kekana

Champagne Sewage

He may be one of the most fortunate businessmen in Gauteng. A well-connected entrepreneur, he has been awarded over two billion rands’ worth of tenders by several provincial governments. But with questionable links to high-ranking politicians, this flamboyant businessman has gained a reputation for pocketing the money and leaving a string of unfinished projects behind him. In the Free State, a project to eradicate the bucket system in an impoverished community has ended in despair as sewage continues to flow down the streets. His companies have become notorious for non-delivery… but government keeps awarding him tenders. Carte Blanche asks why.

Producer: Harri Vithi | Presenter: Masa Kekana

Hopped Up About Hyacinth

In Hartbeespoort, Gauteng millions of tiny insects are hard at work, eradicating the water hyacinth suffocating the dam. It’s an invasive South American weed that, when left to bloom, depletes the oxygen in the water, killing fish and preventing boats from using the dam. For years, the Madibeng Local Municipality has tried unsuccessfully to eliminate the weed, but it always grows back. Now, scientists have introduced water hyacinth planthoppers: host-specific natural enemies of water hyacinth. But this new attempt to kill off the weed hasn’t been without controversy.

Producer: Sasha Schwendenwein | Presenter: Govan Whittles

CARTE BLANCHE: THE PODCAST

Promises, Promises, Promises

Joining us this week is financial journalist, Ray Mahlaka to help us dissect everything from elections to what’s been happening at this past week’s World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. Then, we ask the question: is it too late for Transnet? And promises, promises, promises. As election season kicks off, Ray tells us what he wants to see and hear from SA’s politicians. That and more, so let’s get into it.

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PICKS OF THE WEEK

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.

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Ngwelezana & Sebokeng: A Matter of Care

Having recently completed a Paediatric Burns Outpatient Department at Ngwelezana Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, the Carte Blanche Making a Difference (MAD) Trust stepped in to create a first-of-its-kind children’s trauma facility in its third project at Sebokeng Regional Hospital in Gauteng.

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UFC: Into the Octagon

In the shadows of the arena a hulking figure stands, draped in a South African flag. After saying a prayer, his face is smeared in Vaseline, and he steps into an Octagon fenced by chain-link. This is the famed Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), probably the globe’s most brutal sport, and South African Dricus ‘Stillknocks’ du Plessis one of its best exponents. It’s taken Dricus months of training to get here, but these days he’s joined at the UFC’s regular fight nights by his protégé, Cameron Saaiman. At 22, his young understudy has already put on some dominant performances in the Octagon and is being billed as the sport’s future. As he and Dricus prepare for UFC 285, Carte Blanche is invited into their secretive fight camp where their physical and mental preparation pushes them to their limits.

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Horror in the Inner City

It’s a Thursday morning in a hijacked building in Johannesburg’s inner city. A fire breaks out on the first floor and soon sets the dilapidated building ablaze. Trapped inside, dozens of people – men, women, and children – are unable to escape the flames. In the street below, onlookers frantically call for help as people attempt to save themselves by jumping from upper-storey windows. Hours later, as rescue workers pull the dead from the debris, the scale of the disaster becomes clear. Blame is soon shifted to NGOs working in the inner city by officials denying any culpability in the tragedy. But few could argue the victims would not have suffered such excruciating deaths had the warning of at least the past two decades been heeded. The same NGOs as well as the media and several politicians had been warning of the dangers posed by Jo’burg’s hijacked buildings. Yet the problem grew unchecked and now 77 people are dead.