Cross-Border Crimes: Watch Carte Blanche, this Sunday 16 January 2022 at 19:00, only on M-Net   101.

I N V E S T I G A T I O N S

Claire Mawisa: “Last year, I was at the border between South Africa and Zimbabwe and witnessed how SANDF members participated in illegal activities at the borderline fence. This week, I’m glad to report that I went to the border fence between South Africa and Mozambique and the experience was completely different. SANDF soldiers were visible and seemed diligent in their duties in patrolling the border fence. So, how is it possible that hundreds of stolen vehicles still make it across to Mozambique illegally – if not through the border post, then through the fence itself?”

Cross-Border Crimes

Vehicle theft in South Africa is nothing new. In fact, most motorists in the country are on high alert every time they get behind the wheel. For criminals, it used to be a relatively uncomplicated and well-orchestrated gig to smuggle stolen vehicles quietly across the border to their new owners. But as motorists wise up, and security tightens, syndicates have been forced to get creative. The result? A criminal trifecta: home invasions, hostage-taking and stolen vehicles. Carte Blanche investigates how the victims of crime in KwaZulu Natal could now find themselves dumped in a foreign country.

Producer: Nicky Troll
Presenter: Claire Mawisa
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R E P O R T A G E

Eastern Cape Floods  

It began as an ordinary overcast morning; minutes later large parts of East London and surrounding areas in the Eastern Cape were submerged. Severe thunderstorms battered the province, causing massive flooding and leaving hundreds of people bewildered and destitute. Now, after weeks of unusual torrential rains in some parts of the country, Carte Blanche explores the role of climate change in these extreme weather events.

Producer: Sasha Schwendenwein
Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli
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M E D I C A L

A Genetic Mystery  

When a geneticist from Cape Town headed to Namaqualand to figure out why so many people were developing bowel cancer, he couldn’t have imagined that his research would lead to the discovery of a home-grown genetic mutation affecting generations of people. Now, every year a team of medical experts travels to the far corners of this district, armed with state-of-the-art equipment, to treat those known to be at risk and offer hope for a longer life.

Producer: Annalise Lubbe
Presenter: Derek Watts
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A Mechanical Heartbeat 

What happens when your heart starts to slowly give up on you?  In South Africa, hundreds of patients are desperate for a life-saving transplant, but the pandemic has slowed surgeries to a trickle.  Now, their last hope at life rests in a small miracle of medical technology.

Producer: Liz Fish
Presenter: Derek Watts
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Please note: Carte Blanche line-ups are subject to change. Stories can be viewed at www.carteblanche.co.za