Coming up on Carte Blanche on M-Net & M-Net HD [101], Sunday 11 December 2022 at 19:00.
Phala Phala Predicament
A week is a lifetime in South African politics. Since the Phala Phala panel report’s release, and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s approach to the Constitutional Court to challenge findings that could lead to his impeachment, speculation as to what will happen next is furiously mounting. It’s a story of great political intrigue: a disgraced former spy boss implicates a President who built his successes on a promise to end corruption. But it’s alleged Ramaphosa did a dodgy deal over a small herd of buffalo with a mysterious Egyptian-Sudanese tycoon. And while the President’s opponents both inside and outside of the ANC have used this political crisis to push the veteran politician to the brink, it appears there are more cards to play before the game is decided one way or another. The fallout from this highly-charged contest has been extraordinary – can Ramaphosa and the ANC pull itself out of this mess to face the electorate in the run-up to the 2024 elections? And how will the unravelling drama shape our future Constitutional state?
Producer: Marion Edmunds
Presenter: Bongani Bingwa
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Decades of Terror
A decades-long war has turned innocent children into child soldiers. Not in the DRC or Sudan, but in Majola, Port St. Johns. Groomed to defend their homes and avenge loved ones lost in the terror, childhood friends and relatives have become sworn enemies. Homes have been torched, people hacked to pieces with pangas. Now, sleeping in the forests and mountains has become the norm for these Eastern Cape children, security and warm bed foreign concepts as they trek to safety under the cover of darkness. Carte Blanche investigates what lies behind this 50-year war between a cluster of villages… with no end in sight.
Producer: Sipha Kema
Presenter: Derek Watts
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Down the Barrel
Guns go missing in the South African Police Service all the time – a reported 7 331 firearms and 10 million rounds of ammunition stolen or lost over a decade. Despite millions spent on creating a secure digital system, a major loophole in the still-manual administration process means guns disappear without detection. And until the loophole is closed, the risk persists. We investigate the dangers of a police system in which hundreds of weapons go missing, and expose the loophole that has the country staring down the barrel of dangerous incompetence.
Producer: Hein Kaiser
Presenter: Masa Kekana
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IronMac
Killed by a motorist, the shocking death of a cyclist friend has inspired Carte Blanche presenter, Macfarlane Moleli, into attempting a near-impossible feat of endurance: the 2023 IRONMAN African Championship. It will push Mac to the very edge of his physical capabilities while shining a light on the tragedy of his friend’s death. With the race only a few short months away, we reflect on the mounting death toll among cyclists on South African roads and ask what it takes to become IronMac.
Producer: Floris Kotze
Presenter: Derek Watts
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Carte Blanche: The Podcast
Unique stories. Unique perspectives. Carte Blanche: The Podcast delves beneath the headlines into South African and global issues, bringing you the stories that matter. Like what you hear? Drop us a rating or review.
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