“It’s a moment etched in my memory: a gifted – if academically challenged – teammate in the under-13 rugby team, jinking and side-stepping his way through opponents left clutching at fresh air. A small crowd of parents hollering and whooping from the sidelines, and the sheer acrobatic grace as he left his feet and dived over the line. It was a feat of athletic prowess I doubt my school has witnessed since. At least, it would have been, had he not dotted the ball down in the 22-metre area rather than over the tryline. Decades later, it seems exactly the kind of sporting IQ the Msunduzi Local Municipality values most in the athletes it chooses to sponsor.” – John Webb, Executive Producer
PetroSA’s Plush New Deal
PetroSA, South Africa’s state-owned oil and gas company, has successfully hidden most of its bad investments over the years. By 2020, poor decisions at the secretive company had wasted billions and almost closed it down. But it was given a lifeline when Mineral Resources and Energy Minister, Gwede Mantashe – determined to save PetroSA – insisted Eskom buy its diesel from the parastatal. Now, it’s on a new drive to partner with private business. A recent contract with the Russian Gazprom Bank has caused a stir, but a far larger deal (signed in secret) will make a controversial businessman a major player in the oil and gas industry. We lift the lid on this new profit-sharing deal in the oil and gas fields off the Southern Cape Coast.
Producer: Joy Summers | Presenter: Masa Kekana
Msunduzi’s Own Goal
In Pietermaritzburg, in the Msunduzi Local Municipality, rubbish lies uncollected on the streets for weeks at a time. In this once-bustling capital city, the putrid stench of urine hangs in the air: a disturbing sign of the city’s decay. Sewage leaks and water pipeline bursts have become common while the supply of electricity has reached a crisis point. The municipality owes Eskom millions, but its coffers are dry. So, why did the mayor sign a multi-million rand deal to sponsor a PSL football team for the next three years? It’s a decision that has residents and business owners outraged.
Producer: Carol Albertyn Christie | Presenter: Govan Whittles
Antarctica’s Hidden Clues
Huddled together on an Antarctic ice sheet, a colony of emperor penguins feed and raise their chicks. But like so many other animals living on the southernmost continent, their lives are increasingly impacted by global warming. These birds are an important piece of the puzzle as scientists study our rapidly changing climate. Antarctica is shrinking as rising ocean temperatures steadily thaw the glaciers that have been frozen for millennia. Carte Blanche travelled to Antarctica to meet researchers and scientists who are studying this ice-covered continent for new clues to help save our planet.
Producer & Presenter: Lourensa Eckard
CARTE BLANCHE: THE PODCAST
We Are on Our Own
The Usindiso Inquiry continues and it highlights the City of Joburg’s many failings. The death of an 11-year-old boy shines the spotlight on unfinished building projects across the country. Then, a feel-good update on a story that left many of our followers seeing red. And conservation news reminds us what we are capable of if we work together. But first, it’s the dreaded Budget week where we are given a sobering overview of the country’s finances. However, if the ANC’s recent comments on loadshedding and state capture are anything to go by, it seems we’re very much on our own…
PICKS OF THE WEEK
Knysna’s Collapse
Knysna, once the jewel of the Garden Route, is on the brink of collapse. Years of mismanagement, poor service delivery and a failing municipal council have torn at the fabric of what was once a seaside haven. But it’s not just on the streets that the crisis is visible: The Knysna estuary, the most biodiverse in the country, is now under serious threat from the failure of water treatment in the adjacent town. While the rot set in some time ago, a change in the local administration to an ANC-led multi-party coalition appears to have accelerated the town’s decline over the past year. As Knysna faces bankruptcy, Carte Blanche investigates what caused the downfall of one of the country’s most celebrated tourist destinations.
Full Interview with Knysna Mayor
Is current Knysna Mayor, Aubrey Tsengwa the best man for the job? And what are his immediate plans to fix some of Knysna’s most pressing crises? From a coalition government in chaos, to failing sewage infrastructure, and taps running dry – Erin Bates sits down with the Mayor to find out what’s really going on.
WATCH IT AGAIN
Cable Theft Wars
In 2022, a team of security personnel working in Soweto was ambushed by a heavily armed gang. One guard was shot dead. A month later, two security guards were gunned down while escorting a City Power utility truck to a salvage yard in Johannesburg. The target: copper cables. Copper cable theft is evolving, with highly organised and well-armed thieves stopping at nothing to get their hands on this valuable commodity – including killing poorly resourced security guards tasked with protecting City Power and Eskom’s essential infrastructure.
UPDATE: Daniel Pienaar Rally School
Last year, the Daniel Pienaar Technical School in the Eastern Cape had all of us talking. Not content with offering traditional sports and activities to its pupils, it added something far more unique to its extra-mural programme: motorsport. Now, Daniel Pienaar has been recognised internationally for this innovation.
Rally Rookies
Daniel Pienaar Technical School in Kariega in the Eastern Cape has a proud history as the oldest technical school in the country. And it’s no ordinary school. Set in a small town that’s home to South Africa’s biggest motor manufacturing plant, Daniel Pienaar’s pupils are living their dreams against a backdrop of roaring engines and customised cars. The school is the only one in the country – and one of only three in the world – offering motorsport as an extracurricular activity. It even even boasts its own 4km racetrack and a professional rally team. But it’s not just the boys trading their books for big engines: girls are getting in on the action, too. Carte Blanche takes a high-speed spin on the circuit.
Edwin Sodi: 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.
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