Coming up on Carte Blanche‎ on M-Net & M-Net HD [101], Sunday 18 September 2022 at 19:00.

Aggrieved
Come one, come all – that was the rallying cry to students wanting to train at one of the country’s 11 agricultural colleges. State-funded and equipped with high-tech gear, the colleges promise hands-on practical training in every aspect of farming. They also offer placements and integrated learning programmes, a major advantage for students looking for work experience. But what’s promised on paper hasn’t materialised in practise. Once enrolled, students are faced with a stark and altogether different reality: dilapidated buildings, abandoned laboratories, and lecturers in short supply. In the cockroach-infested kitchen, the fridges are bare, there’s no running water, and the facilities are dirty. But how is this possible when millions of rands of taxpayers’ money are spent on these colleges? Carte Blanche investigates.

Producer: Anina Peens
Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli
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Jagersfontein Disaster
Jagersfontein, a small town in the Free State, is home to the oldest open-pit diamond mine in South Africa. In this little-known community, Sunday mornings usually start slowly, but on 11 September, that changed. A dam, used to store waste from the Jagersfontein diamond mine, collapsed, triggering heavy flooding that left death and destruction in its wake. More than 70 people were injured, local farmers lost livestock, and at least 60 homes were damaged by the flood waters. But residents here say that the mine owners were warned on numerous occasions about the danger posed by this tailings dam. Carte Blanche investigates.

Producer: Sinethemba Nogude
Journalist: Laura Byrne
Presenter: Claire Mawisa

The Golden Girls
It’s an Olympic sport, although not one that’s celebrated with much fanfare. But for three South African seniors – aged 60, 70 and 80 – race-walking is what gives them an impressive zest for life. Each walked away with gold medals at the World Master’s Athletics Championships in Finland this year, making up six of the ten gold medals won by the South African team. In an era where the value of age is often eclipsed by the charisma of youth, these women aren’t looking to any fountain to defy the march of time. Carte Blanche took on our gold-winning champions.

Producer: Marion Edmunds
Research: Siniketiwe Hlanze
Presenter: Macfrlane Moleli
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Please note Carte Blanche line-ups are subject to change.