Coming up on Carte Blanche on M-Net & M-Net HD [101], Sunday 03 December 2023 at 19:00.
Murder: Unresolved
In October 2021, a frantic call from a distraught husband sent emergency services and police to Pastor Liezel de Jager’s house. But it was already too late. Liezel was found strangled outside her Amanzimtoti home. Her father, Henk van Zyl – a former detective – made over 90 calls to police for feedback but, for two years, the investigation stalled… until civil rights organisation, Action Society, got involved. With increased pressure and media attention, police finally arrested a suspect last week. It’s an all-too-familiar picture: a case that clearly illustrates the fallout from an overburdened detective service unable to keep up with South Africa’s ever-soaring crime rates. According to the police’s own latest statistics, just under 12.5 percent of the country’s murders are solved. As families mourning the brutal deaths of their loved ones wait months or even years for closure, does the answer lie in watchdog organisations that effectively privatise the investigation and prosecution of crime? Carte Blanche investigates.
Producer: Carol Albertyn Christie & Laura Byrne
Presenter: Masa Kekana
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Budding Besties
Mpho and Flenters are unusual companions. One is an orphaned rhino calf and the other a sheep with a little attitude. At a secret location in the bush, Mpho is just one of a crash of orphaned rhino calves saved from certain death by a non-profit rhino orphanage. Many of them lost their mothers to poaching and, in the wild, young rhino are completely incapable of caring for themselves. They will either fall prey to predators or eat dirt to survive. At this orphanage, the budding friendship between Mpho and Flenters is getting all the attention. Staff at the orphanage hope that, with Flenters’ help, Mpho might one day return to the wild.
Producer: Graham Coetzer
Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli
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Coming soon… PetroSA’s Dirty Business
State-owned company PetroSA used to produce diesel and other fuels from gas at its refinery in Mossel Bay. But in 2020, it ran out of gas… and money. Two decades of woeful investments, scandals, absence of governance and profligacy had rendered the company bankrupt. But Minerals and Energy Minister, Gwede Mantashe, has refused to let it fail. He has big plans for its revival into a new petroleum company with the Energy Minister as the sole shareholder. Meanwhile, inside the boardroom of PetroSA, all is not well, as the chairman is making headlines. He reportedly wants the CEO’s position but a string of misconduct findings against him may scupper his plans. As details of questionable tender processes emerge, Carte Blanche investigates this secret organisation that not even parliament seems able to penetrate.
Producer: Joy Summers
Presenter: Masa Kekana
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Carte Blanche: The Podcast
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Please note Carte Blanche line-ups are subject to change.
